Trinity Christian College, Campus Master Plan

Palos Heights, Illinois

Firm

GMB Architecture + Engineering

Client

Trinity Christian College

Design team: David Wilkins, AIA, NCI; Dan Tyrer, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC; Jordan Johnson, A.AIA; Matt Heidloff, LLA, ASLA, LEED AP; Bill Johnson, FASLA

A campus master plan identifies needs and closes gaps between where an institution is today and where it would like to be in the future. It provides a roadmap for growth.
For Trinity, the planning was a three-phase process structured over 10 months. Through Steering Committee engagement, five guiding principles were developed as a tool to develop the planning process and long-term framework thinking. The principles: Envision a holistic campus, celebrate the kingdom, foster community, address boundaries, and reveal identity landmarks.
The plan calls for the removal of three core campus facilities. It replaces them with new structures that stretch and enhance the north/south orientation of the campus, paralleled by the natural meandering edge of Navaho Creek and its surrounding watershed. New structures include an academic building, replacing the function and spaces provided by some of the oldest buildings on campus, and a student center that anchors the newly defined campus green to the north. The document outlines a plan that can be carried out incrementally as growth occurs and funding is secured.