Thomas J. Waters Elementary School North Annex
Project Summary
Taking root in the existing community gardens, this new annex allows Waters Elementary School to provide a strong educational foundation for a growing student body. Three floors of bright, airy classroom space match the vibrancy of their integrated curriculum of fine arts, environmental studies, and technology. Each floor, whose interiors were designed in collaboration with Doyle & Associates, is uniquely colored to reflect the natural curriculum and help students understand their location within the building. Corkboards line the halls giving students space to showcase their flowering creativity. To ensure access by students and faculty of all abilities, new elevators unite the existing school with the new annex.
A large multi-purpose room connected to a complete industrial kitchen gives the school room to gather. A large media library overlooks the student-maintained south gardens. Alongside classrooms for everyday learning, the annex is home to a new art studio equipped with a kiln and an acoustically private music classroom allowing students to explore their creativity through a variety of mediums. Outside the building, new nature-play areas and a playground designed by SITE design gives students new ways to explore the natural world.
client
Public Building Commission of Chicago
Chicago Public Schools
location
Chicago, Illinois
size
30,000 sf
cost
$15 million
Specialties
client
Public Building Commission of Chicago
Chicago Public Schools
location
Chicago, Illinois
size
30,000 sf
cost
$15 million
Specialties
Like roots pushing through the loamy soil, large tubes of concrete support a thicker than normal concrete slab, allowing the annex to stand tall on the site where the Chicago River once flowed. Reaching three stories high, lines of corbelled brick wind around the building’s smooth façade, mimicking a snake in the garden. Beneath the brick, an insulated composite wall system incorporating a continuous air barrier works hand-in-hand with the school’s environmental goals by achieving a 30% savings over LEED standards and reduces the load on mechanical systems as well as our environment.
Natural Palette
Using materials standard to Chicago Public School facilities, we reflected the school’s unique curriculum using nature-inspired colors, illuminating the floors and walls of each new space, simultaneously demonstrating how schools can express their individuality without inflating budgets. Just as the prairie grasses dance around the plantings in the student gardens outside, golden yellows on the first floor provide an energizing atmosphere in the new multi-purpose area where students will gather for meals and assembly. Mirroring the foliage created by trees, lush greens cover the second floor, home of both a sunny and acoustically private music classroom as well as an art lab equipped with kilns to give students multitude of paths on which to discover their creativity. Reflecting the sky, vibrant blues on the third floor provide a calming atmosphere for the classrooms and media lab where students can study and experiment with technology.