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DLA Architects, Ltd.
Honorable Mention Winner 2009 Education Design Showcase
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Facility Use: K-12 Other
Project Type: New Construction
Category: Whole Building/Campus Design
Location: Elgin, IL
District/Inst.: Elgin Academy
Dr. John Cooper Head of School
Completion Date: October 2008
Design Capacity: 600 students
Enrollment: 440 students
Gross Area: 41,380 sq.ft.
Space per pupil: 69 sq.ft.
Site size: 7 acres
Cost per student: $16,935
Cost per sq.ft.: $245.00
Total project cost: $10,161,200
Building construction cost: $7,708,220
Site development cost: $1,931,990
Furniture & equipment cost: $350,000
Fees and other: $844,095 |
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Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science, and Fine Arts Center
General Project Description
The 4 story, 41,380 square foot Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science, and Fine Arts Center has been designed to serve Preschool through 12th Grades.
A focal point of the school facility is the Black Box Theater, a multi-use space that is also available to the community-at-large. The Elgin OPERA has been chosen as the Resident Artist Program and the Elgin Theater Company was named the In-Residence Ensemble.
Goals and Visions
Elgin Academy’s vision was to create a new building which complemented the existing campus facilities, providing unique opportunities to create new and exciting curricular spaces.
Integral to the program was accommodating Math Classrooms, Science Labs, Art and Music Classrooms, Student Commons, Learning Media Center, Computer Lab, Black Box Theater and related support spaces on a small site reflecting Green and Sustainable Design principles. A core goal of this high-performance educational facility was to aid students in developing an understanding and appreciation of Green and Sustainable Design, with the building envelope and systems being an integral component of the curriculum.
In addition, a significant programming emphasis of the Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science and Fine Arts Center was the joint public use of the Black Box Theater, creating a vibrant, community asset.
Meeting the Educational Need/Program
The building has afforded students unique learning opportunities. The Green and Sustainable Design features of the building have been integrated into the curriculum, with the facility becoming a “living laboratory” for science and math students interested in technology, materials, and environmental design. Each science class features a curricular environmental focus. Students of all ages are being trained to read computers which monitor the performance of the building’s mechanical and electrical systems.
The 300 seat Black Box Theater, designed for the flexible seating and staging arrangements, supports a variety of educational and performance needs. State-of-the-art amenities have been incorporated into the design of the Control Booth, Sound and Light Decks, continuous perimeter Catwalk/Mezzanine, and pipe grid allowing for maximum flexibility in lighting and scenery placement.
An Art Gallery was designed into the Lobby of the Black Box Theater providing Visual Arts students the opportunity to showcase their work to theater patrons. This reinforces the importance and interrelationship of the Visual and Performing Arts.
A unique student performance opportunity is the Videography Lab; supported by an adjacent Control Room, Sound Booth, and Computer Graphics Lab. Student hosted live webcasts for a world-wide audience are produced here.
An inherent asset of a small independent school is its ability to encourage student-student and student-faculty interaction. This has been reinforced through the design of the Student Commons. Filled with comfortable furniture, including tables and chairs for studying, it provides students with a relaxed, informal setting for social interaction and peer tutoring.
The Planning Process
Initial meetings with the Board of Trustees and the Administration identified the need to construct a new building which would be the first phase of a comprehensive, campus-wide development program. Planning for the facility began with a needs assessment to determine what additional learning opportunities would expand the student academic experience. Each faculty member, as well as students and staff, were interviewed to identify needs and develop room sizes and spatial relationships. From this, a building program evolved, part of which included sharing the space with the community.
From the initial planning, Green and Sustainable Design principles were embedded within the heart and soul of the program. Before proceeding further, this approach was ratified by the Board of Trustees, who was proactive and supportive in terms of constructing an environmentally-conscious educational facility.
Although the Project Team supported the design of a “green school”, it was important to integrate the ideas and opinions of others. To that end, a day-long eco-charette was hosted for the Elgin Academy Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, parents, the architectural/engineering team, commissioning agent, local businesses, City of Elgin staff including the Economic Development Director and the Municipal City Planner, representatives from the utility companies, Elgin Cultural Arts Commission and fundraising consultants. Those invited were divided into four focus groups: Team 1 – Building Envelope and Infrastructure, Team 2 – Site Impact, Team 3 – Building Usage, and Team 4 – Material Selection. Each group studied design opportunities, particularly as related to Green and Sustainable Design. The eco-charette culminated in a group discussion with design recommendations. A follow-up copy of the day’s activities was sent to all of the participants. The information was then incorporated into the building program. Not only did the participants make a significant contribution in the development of the Media, Science, and Fine Arts Center, they became strong proponents of the successful capital campaign.
Special Challenges and Solutions
The design of the Harold D. Rider Family Media, Science, and Fine Arts Center faced unique site challenges. However, these challenges became project assets.
A portion of the property housed a gas station which, over time, became a brownfield. Also, two distressed residences needed to be removed. Further complicating matters was the 28 feet of grade change across the site.
The brownfield was remediated prior to construction, thus making the formerly contaminated site viable for a school building.
Prior to demolition of the distressed houses, a local neighborhood group, in conjunction with Elgin Academy, sponsored an architectural artifact auction. Homeowners salvaged the building components for their own restoration efforts. This was a win-win-win effort. The existing houses were removed, homeowners acquired salvaged architectural details, and the local neighborhood association raised funds for further restoration efforts.
The severe topography turned out to be a planning asset. The Black Box Theater did not require windows, so it was buried into the hill with the earth being used as a natural insulator for a significant portion of the exterior envelope. The grade change also allowed for separation of the Student Entrance on the Third Floor from the Public Entrance the Black Box Theater on the Second Floor.
Unique Features/Innovations
An architectural challenge was to integrate the new building into contradicting environments, melding its architectural expression into the overall urban fabric. The campus buildings, dating back as far as 1856, faced each other across the pastoral Quad setting, reflecting the architectural style from the era which they were designed. Complicating this, adjacent to the campus, was a high-energy arterial corridor into the downtown.
Along the campus frontage, the height and scale of the new building matches the height of the adjacent buildings. Classical design elements were used in a contemporary manner relating to the architectural and historical legacy of Elgin Academy. From the public side, the building expresses a 21st Century vitality. A cantilevered bay curtainwall punctuates the rectilinear grid established in the main building and the remainder of the campus. The angle relates to the diagonal intersection of the two adjacent streets. The architectural detailing, construction techniques, materials, and fenestration are a function of the LEED components that were integrated into the design, while at the same time are sympathetic to the architectural expressions of the other campus buildings.
Site Considerations
The existing Elgin Academy campus has been built around the Quad, with buildings dating back as far as 1856, and varying in height from 1 to 3 stories. The location for the new building was a prominent, sloping, tight, infill site completing enclosure of the Quad on one side and facing an urban arterial corridor on the other side.
Cost Effectiveness
Recognizing that the construction cost was primarily a function of square footage, project square footage was carefully monitored with the Construction Manager throughout the Programming, Design, and Construction process. As the project evolved, a matrix identified changes in programming needs, square footage, and construction cost. This prevented unplanned “project creep” which could unknowingly increase project costs.
The basic rectilinear shape allowed for simplification of the structural system, reducing the structural framing costs.
Originally designed as a 3 story facility, the volume created by the Black Box Theater, enabled a 2nd floor to slide into this “bonus space”, created at minimal cost.
Cutting the building into the side of the hill reduced the building height and the exposure of the exterior wall. Using the earth as an insulator ultimately reduced construction and energy costs. This further reduced costs by avoiding the need for deep foundations which would have been necessary if the First Floor matched the grade of the campus quad.
Other Information
As an extension of the focus on Green and Sustainable Design, and the use of the building as a teaching tool, Elgin Academy has created a “Green Team” of Upper School students. They act as docents, educating the other students, staff and visitors as to the Green and Sustainable features of the building.
Besides the building’s Green and Sustainable Design, Elgin Academy is committed to a green housekeeping policy, in order to maintain the outstanding indoor air quality and occupant health.
Project Description: 1) Control of Institution: Private: Not for Profit
2) Type of Institution: Traditional
6) Community: Designed for Community Functions |
Locale: Methodology & Standards: | District/Institution Decision |
Funding Method(s): Primary Source: Alternative Source
Alternative Sources: Secondary: Grants and Donations |
Project Delivery Method(s): Sustainable/Green Design: Principles Followed: LEED
Certifications Obtained: LEED Gold
Site Selection and Development: Building Orientation; Heat Island Reduction; Site Selection
Water Conservation: Water Conservation
Energy Efficiency and Conservation: Natural Ventilation; Building Automation/Energy Management Systems; Energy Efficiency
Materials Use: Sustainable Materials Selection; Recycling/Reuse
Indoor Environmental Quality: Indoor Air Quality; Acoustics; Electric Lighting Systems/Controls; Use of Daylighting
Teaching Tool: Building as a Teaching Tool
Commissioning: Building/systems have been commissioned |
Architect(s): Associated Firms and Consultants: Landscape Architecture: Tezca Environmental (Rick Teufel)
Construction/Project Management: Pepper Construction (Lance Tritsch)
Structural Engineer: Pease Borst and Associates (Jeff Borst, PE)
Electrical Engineer: Berg Engineering Consultants, Ltd. (Chuck Easley)
Mechanical Engineer: Berg Engineering Consultants, Ltd. (Brian Berg Jr., PE, LEED AP)
Civil Engineer: W-T Civil Engineering, LLC (Jason Green)
Acoustical Consultant: Threshold Acoustics LLC (Scott D. Pfeiffer)
Technology Consultant: Berg Engineering Consultants, Ltd.
Environmental Consultant: ATC Associates (Ash Memon) |
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