In October 2024, Learning By Design named Chelsea Intermediate School an Outstanding Project for Early Childhood School/Elementary School Renovation/Addition |
A comprehensive renovation and major addition has transformed this suburban Chicagoland school into a dynamic, welcoming learning environment for more than 1,000 students in Grades 3-5. After reopening in fall 2023, this school is a colorful, light-filled environment that supports a thriving learning community. Grade level students are clustered in “neighborhoods,” each branded with distinctive wayfinding colors. Extended learning and breakout areas, wide corridors with seating niches, and a learning stair in the cafeteria offer flexibility of use. Chelsea’s main entry has been transformed with an expansive curving canopy and landscaped plaza area. The new addition also created space for an interior courtyard that is used for outdoor learning and contained recess options for special needs students.
CHALLENGES
First built in 1974, the facility started as two separate buildings and has undergone numerous renovations and additions. This gradual evolution resulted in inefficient, outmoded spaces, significant circulation issues, and shared use spaces being scattered throughout the building.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
The transformed facility prioritizes sustainability, wellness, safety and resilience. The design incorporates a wealth of natural light which is supplemented by LED fixtures. The building incorporates biophilic design elements such as visual connection to the natural environment and use of natural materials. The plaza outside the new main entry is landscaped in keeping with the school’s biophilic design and offers bench seating outside the curved cafeteria curtainwall.
SAFETY
Chelsea’s plaza serves as a drop-off/ pickup area and gathering space; its passive security design features strategic landscaping, concrete bench seating and raised planter beds that provide barriers for added protection. Neighborhood color branding serves as a wayfinding tool for first responders and occupants alike.
