The Building Team for the new Aquatics Center at Niles North High School in Skokie, Ill., included Chicago-area firms Legat Architects and IHC Construction—but a case could be made for listing a much larger group of official participants. The AEC firms made a concerted effort to involve not only district officials but also the user community. As a result, the project became a unique learning experience for students, staff, and neighbors.
The Niles North Aquatics Center serves 2,200 students—all of whom must take swimming—as well as 275 competitive student athletes in swimming, diving, and water polo. Feeder programs from park districts and local partners are also housed there. By 2012, the pool in the 48-year-old building was considered too small and shallow to meet current requirements.
Stakeholders asked for a new competition “cold pool,” a renovated community-accessible “warm pool,” a new public connecting corridor, locker room renovations, coaches’ offices, and meeting and storage space. Lighting and mechanical systems also needed an energy upgrade.
SILVER AWARD
Project summaryNiles North High School Aquatics Center
Skokie, Ill.BUILDING TEAM
Submitting firm: Legat Architects (architect)
Owner/developer: Niles Township High School District 219
Structural: KJWW Engineering Consultants
Mechanical/plumbing: AMSCO Engineering
Electrical: Hansen Palmer Associates
Civil: Gewalt Hamilton
CM: IHC Construction CompaniesGENERAL INFORMATION
Project size: 39,200 sf (24,600 sf new + 14,600 sf renovated)
Construction cost: $15 million
Construction period: April 2012 to August 2013
Delivery method: Design-bid-build
District 219 teamed with Legat Architects to plan the revitalization. Students and community members were surveyed regarding their priorities, and the Building Team held design workshops that elicited feedback for the floor plan. Daylighting is an important aspect of the final design, including a mix of clerestories, clear windows, translucent windows, and internal glazing to offer glare-free illumination and visual connections.
Eventually, the project was incorporated into the district’s architecture and engineering class curriculum. Biweekly tours were coordinated with faculty to focus on current classroom topics, and students were able to receive insights on various career paths.
“It became quite the living classroom,” says Building Team Awards judge Nathan Snydacker, PE, LEED AP, Vice President at Environmental Systems Design.
“It’s a lot of involvement you’d want in a school project of this type,” adds BTA judge Terry Fielden, LEED AP BD+C, Director of K-12 Education for International Contractors.
The Building Team phased construction over two summers to minimize disruption, keeping the community involved with a blog, video tours, signage with QR codes, and outreach to local news outlets.
In spring 2013, a severe flood created leaks in the lower-level filtration room. The damage stalled excavation and construction of the pool slab and walls, but IHC Construction, Legat, D219 staff, and other contractors managed to keep the job on schedule and within budget.
The result is a more functional, accessible, energy-efficient facility, designed to use 42% less water and 44% less energy than typical natatoriums. The project, whose heat-recovery dehumidification units should also sharply reduce CO2 emissions, is expected to become the first aquatic center in Illinois to achieve LEED for Schools Gold certification.
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
Carnegie Hall vaults into the 21st century with a $200 million renovation
Historic Carnegie Hall in New York City is in the midst of a major $200 million renovation that will bring the building up to contemporary standards, increase educational and backstage space, and target LEED Silver.
| May 17, 2011
Redesigning, redefining the grocery shopping experience
The traditional 40,000- to 60,000-sf grocery store is disappearing and much of the change is happening in the city. Urban infill sites and mixed-use projects offer grocers a rare opportunity to repackage themselves into smaller, more efficient, and more convenient retail outlets. And the AEC community will have a hand in developing how these facilities will look and operate.
| May 17, 2011
Architecture billings index fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects
The architecture billings index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects. The architecture billings index fell 2.9 points last month to 47.6, a level that indicates declining demand for architecture services, according to the American Institute of Architects.
| May 17, 2011
Sustainability tops the syllabus at net-zero energy school in Texas
Texas-based firm Corgan designed the 152,200-sf Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with the goal of creating the largest net-zero educational facility in the nation, and the first in the state. The facility is expected to use 50% less energy than a standard school.
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
| May 17, 2011
The New Orleans master plan
At an afternoon panel during last week's AIA National Conference in New Orleans, Goody Clancy Principal David Dixon and Manning Principal W. Raymond Manning shared their experiences creating the New Orleans Master Plan, a document that sets a new course for the city, from land use and transportation planning to environmental protection.
| May 17, 2011
Do these buildings look like buffalo to you?
It’s hard to contemplate winter now that we’re mid-spring, but when the seasons change, ice skaters in Winnipeg will be able to keep warm in plywood shelters designed by Patkau Architects. The designers created temporary shelters inspired by animal behavior—specifically, buffalo bracing against the wind. Check them out.
| May 16, 2011
USGBC and AIA unveil report for greening K-12 schools
The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects unveiled "Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Special Report from Sundance," which outlines a five-point national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives.
