The symmetry of the wide stairways, sloped planters and low albedo pavers define the main entrance to Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy in Chicago. The school is one of five Chicago public high prep schools that prepare students to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The school opened in Sept. 2012 with a student body of 244.
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich Blessing

In a long-standing association with the Chicago Public Schools, the Public Building Commission of Chicago manages millions of dollars of work for the CPS and has been instrumental in the "Modern Schools Across Chicago" initiative, a $1 billion dollar plan to bring brand new schools to Chicago's communities. Under "Modern Schools Across Chicago," the PBC and CPS have planned new high schools using a prototype design in which the schools have a gymnasium and indoor pool, available to the public during non-school hours. Each project embraces the type of positive social change and facilities where residents can gather to share the common values that truly build communities.

The north side of the campus offers 40 8'x5' above ground community garden plots. Ten of the segmental retaining wall units (Belgard "BelAir') are handicapped accessible.
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich Blessing

Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, located in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago's 18th Ward, serves 1,200 high school students and the community. The design incorporates features into the building to make it safer, stronger, more technologically adaptable and more environmentally friendly. Such features include virtually indestructible block walls, green roofs, programmable HVAC systems, low emission building materials, and solar panels.

The vertical colored glass panes for the music/arts wing are expressive of the creativity going on within. The rusticated brick is in keeping with brick neighborhood homes, as well as the Chicago Public Schools' goal for 100 year buildings.
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich Blessing

The 17.3 acre site provides athletic facilities and points of interest and education, offers outdoor seating opportunities, and connects the site elements to the school and the neighborhood at large. New site landscaping was designed to complement the modern architecture and enhance a campus-like, pedestrian oriented environment. The exterior sport facilities include a baseball field, softball field, running track, tennis courts, and combination soccer and football field. The site features accessible, multifunctional space including a biology garden, diverse native plantings, community gardens, outdoor classroom/picnic area, built bleachers and custom concrete sport seating, council ring, rain gardens, a cistern, geothermal field, and native plant education signs.

The site, previously a brownfield with leaking underground storage tanks, features diverse native plantings with plant education signs, a biology garden, community gardens, rain gardens, outdoor classroom/picnic area, bleachers, custom concrete sport seating, council ring, a cistern and geothermal field. The outdoor sport facilities include a baseball field, softball field, running track, tennis courts and a combination soccer/football field.

A special planning strategy minimized haul-off costs by utilizing the tons of gravel fill that would otherwise need to be removed during site prep – thus transferring savings into landscape elements. Strategic elements of the plan that helped to achieve this savings include raising the north end of the site, and built up raised areas for viewing sports creating custom seating berms in lieu of aluminum stadium seating for each sporting program on the site. With a budget of 65 million, the overall project cost was under budget at 62.4 million, with landscape site elements being over 2 million of the cost.

Cisterns aren't known for their esthetics, to the extent they are often buried. No "ugly" cistern here. To capture runoff from the roof, STR Architects designed a sculptural 4,000-gallon cistern in which water flows artistically from "petal to petal." A water gauge mounted on the outside of the cistern reveals the number of feet of harvested water. Community gardeners have access to three hose spigots at the base of the cistern to water the raised garden plots; overflow is released into the biology garden.
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich

Site paving and sidewalks connect key nodes and provide safe and accessible routes from the permeable paver parking lot, around the building exterior, in the main entry plaza, and walks connecting the various site features, providing an ease of maintenance and easy accessibility around the school. A bike lane dissects the site connecting the east side of the site to the parking lot where bicycle racks occupy the west end of the site.

On the south side of the school buildings is a Reading Garden (left) with a hardscape of Hanover "Prest' pavers, limestone slabs for seating and multi-stem "Whitespire' gray birch trees. The lower level closest to the street offers green space of fescue sod, a serpentine concrete walk, two small gathering areas with more limestone slab seating and "Red Sunset' maples. The trees on the grass-lined parkway by the street are thornless Cockspur Hawthorns.

The north side of the school contains 40 above ground community garden plots, a sculptural metal cistern, and a multi-functional outdoor classroom/picnic plaza. The community garden plots are 8'x5' in size and 10 of them are handicapped accessible. The 4,000 plus gallon cistern collects rainwater from the school's roof. A water gauge is mounted on the outside of the cistern showing how many feet of water have been collected. Gardeners can use 3 hose spigots at the base of the cistern to water the community garden plots, while overflow is released into the biology garden. The classroom/picnic plaza has cluster seating for 74 people with 4 handicapped accessible seats.

This specimen Cuprea european beech tree, known as the "Knowledge Tree," is at the secondary entrance plaza and complements the purple brick color of the architecture, as do other herbaceous and deciduous plants used in a variety of locations around the building. The underplantings for the beech tree are spirea, "Blue Pacific' juniper and "Max Frei' geraniums.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ In the background is a "Chanticleer' pear tree, "Annabelle' hydrangea and "Jolly Bee' geraniums. Plants used around the site are thornless, nonpoisonous and produce little fruit if near paved or other developed areas. To keep the area from getting overgrown and being a security concern, the shrubs are predominantly dwarf species.

Protected existing trees along the 77th Street parkway and newly planted trees throughout the site help to define space, provide shade, sequester carbon, improve air quality and improve the quality of life for site users. A specimen beech tree, affectionately called the "Knowledge Tree", is a prominent feature in the secondary entrance plaza. The "Knowledge Tree" complements the purple brick color of the architecture as do other herbaceous and deciduous plants used in a variety of locations around the building. Plants used around the site are thornless, non-poisonous, and produce little fruit if near paved or other developed areas. Shrub species are predominantly dwarf in character for security clearances. The highly diverse native plant palette makes the site function as an urban botanic garden for the STEM Academy's biology students. The use of potable water was minimized. No permanent irrigation system was installed. A water main line with quick couplers are located every 100' throughout the site for plant establishment and to maintain sport surfaces. Hose bibs are also provided around the building façade.

Whitespire gray birch trees flank the Reading Garden. "Annabelle' hydrangea, birchleaf spirea, "Palace' purple coralbell and "Royal Standard' hostas add interest.

The extensive vegetated green roofs are a system of monolithic continuous media layers using sedum tiles. On the larger green roof area, expanded polystyrene foam shapes a berm to conceal an expansion joint and create visual interest from inside the school. Gravel nesting areas for killdeer birds, several bird houses for different bird species, and fallen trees for perches create an alternative bird habitat area above the biology garden.

Bluestone Outcropping stone steppers and Krukowski Stone (Wis.) "Aqua Grantique' boulders highlight the Biological Garden. Plantings here include "Button Bush', "Sweet Flag', "Big Blue' Lobelia, Pennsylvania sedge, "Blue Flag' iris, New England aster, prairie dropseed, "Little Bluestem', "Spike Blazingstar', butterfly weed and Riddell's goldenrod.
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich Blessing

Stormwater is stored, cleaned and managed on the green roof, in the cistern and throughout the landscape by key design, including the planting of native vegetation, rain gardens, and in aggregate under the playing fields and permeable paver parking area. These site features increase its overall perviousness from an initial 85% impervious condition, to a runoff reduction of 42.6%. Light color hardscape materials lessen urban heat island effect along with 50% vegetated green roof and 265 new shade, ornamental, and evergreen trees.

The Rain Garden's horticulture is red and northern pin oaks, "Heritage' river birch, sweet flag (a tall perennial wetland monocot), golden Alexanders (yellow flowering perennial forb), fox sedge (perennial wetland grass), "Blue Flag' Iris, and Spike Blazingstar, with "Annabelle' hydrangea in the background.

The building and site development strategies, green initiatives, and integrative team collaboration contributed to the first Chicago Public School to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.

This project was awarded the ILASLA 2013 President's Award in the Category of Design – Constructed Projects.

The permeable paver parking lot has a dose of "Kolbold' gayfeather, "Kim's Knee' high purple coneflower, dwarf prairie dropseed and Arctic fire dogwood.

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Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy Project Team
Owners
Public Building Commission of Chicago
Chicago Public Schools

Consutlant List
STR Partners, LLC
Colby Lewis,
Jennifer Costanzo
Jennifer Piece

Prime Consultant/Architects
Nia
Anthony Akindele
Pierre Moulinier

A bike lane bisects the site, connecting the east side of the site to the parking lot; bicycle racks occupy the west end of the site.

Architect
HJKessler Associates, Inc.
Helen J. Kessler

LEED Consultant
Terra Engineering, Ltd.
Karen Steingraber
Danielle Kowalewski

Civil Engineers
Jacobs/Ryan Associates

Landscape Architects
Terry Warriner Ryan
Adam White
CE Anderson & Associates

Structural Engineer Chuck Anderson
Kirkegaard Associates

AN Consultant
Joanne Chang
CharterSills & Associates

Lighting Consultant
Warren Charter
STR Building Resources

Roofing Consultant
Jim Clark
Shiner + Associates, Inc.

Acoustical Consultant
Brian Homans
Bill Conner Associates LLC

Theatrical Consultant
Mr. Bill Conner
Natatorium Consultant Innovative Aquatic Design, LLC
James Lueders
STR Consulting

Cost Estimating
Tom McGing
STA Building Resources

Roofing Consultant
Chris Shields
DbHMS

MEPFP Consultant
Sachin Anand
Guy Valcour

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Products used for the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy:
Vista Ensemble Cluster Seating – Forms +Surfaces
Trio Bicycle Racks – Forms + Surfaces
Vegetated Sedum Tiles – Eterra
Segmental Retaining Wall – BelAir Belgard Wall
Limestone Benches – Valders Stone & Marble, Inc.
Modular Fa?????ade and Trellis System – McNichols Eco Mesh
Educational Landscape Signs – Fossil Industries

A Dolomitic limestone (Valders Stone) "council circle," or what is sometimes today called a "talking circle," is set amid native grasses (prairie cordgrass, Shenandoah switch grass, "Red Bull' big bluestem, "Carousel' little bluestem), wildflowers (wild bergamot, from which the Iroquois made a drink) and perennials ("Little Joe' pye weed, "Marshall's Delight' bee balm, "Showy' goldenrod, butterfly weed, and "Vivid' obedient plant.)
Photo: Steve Hall for Hedrich Blessing

The classroom/picnic plaza has cluster seating for 74 people, including several tables with handicapped accessible seats.