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
| Jan 3, 2011
Chicago Architectural Foundation’s media expert takes all 85 tours in one year
Jennifer Lucente, the social media expert at the Chicago Architecture Foundation has completed her year of taking tours—taking all 85 tours in 2010. The challenge that began last January with a tour of the Board of Trade building has ended today with the architecture foundation’s newest tour: Razzle Dazzle – featuring the Loop theater district followed by a celebration at the Chicago Theatre.
| Dec 28, 2010
Project of the Week: Community college for next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Dec 20, 2010
Architect Adrian D. Smith on zero-energy cities, new technologies, and high density.
Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is co-founder (with Gordon Gill) of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago. Previously, he was a design partner in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1980-2003) and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. His landmark structures include the Jin Mao Tower (Shanghai), Rowes Wharf (Boston), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.), the world’s tallest structure. He recently collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net-zero-energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, now nearing completion in Guangzhou, China. This account is based on his recent remarks at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
| Dec 17, 2010
BIM Tools Enhance Project Value
The Building Team for a renovation project at Georgia Tech uses BIM and 3D design tools to solve a complex millwork problem.
| Dec 17, 2010
Historic Rhode Island hotel reborn with modern amenities
The iconic Ocean House resort in Watch Hill, R.I., had to be torn down in 2005 when systemic deficiencies made restoration unfeasible. Centerbrook Architects and Planners, Centerbrook, Conn., designed a new version of the hotel, working with preservation societies to save or recreate favorite elements of the original building, and incorporating them into the contemporary structure. The new resort has 49 guest rooms and 23 residences, plus banquet halls, a corporate boardroom, a private clubroom, a spa and fitness center, an indoor lap pool, a bar, and the obligatory international croquet court. Dimeo Construction, Providence, R.I., was the construction manager.
| Dec 17, 2010
Gemstone-inspired design earns India’s first LEED Gold for a hotel
The Park Hotel Hyderabad in Hyderabad, India, was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to combine inspirations from the region’s jewelry-making traditions with sustainable elements.
| Dec 17, 2010
Condominium and retail building offers luxury and elegance
The 58-story Austonian in Austin, Texas, is the tallest residential building in the western U.S. Benchmark Development, along with Ziegler Cooper Architects and Balfour Beatty (GC), created the 850,000-sf tower with 178 residences, retail space, a 6,000-sf fitness center, and a 10th-floor outdoor area with a 75-foot saltwater lap pool and spa, private cabanas, outdoor kitchens, and pet exercise and grooming areas.
| Dec 17, 2010
Sam Houston State arts programs expand into new performance center
Theater, music, and dance programs at Sam Houston State University have a new venue in the 101,945-sf, $38.5 million James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center. WHR Architects, Houston, designed the new center to connect two existing buildings at the Huntsville, Texas, campus.
| Dec 17, 2010
Alaskan village school gets a new home
Ayagina’ar Elitnaurvik, a new K-12 school serving the Lower Kuskikwim School District, is now open in Kongiganak, a remote Alaskan village of less than 400 residents. The 34,000-sf, 12-classroom facility replaces one that was threatened by river erosion.
