Yorkville High School Expansion

Design team
Brain Spaces (Educational Facility Planning Consultant); AMSCO Engineering, Inc. (MEP & FP Engineering); 20/10 Engineering Group LLC (Structural Engineering); MeritCorp (Civil Engineering)

Yorkville Community Unit School District 115 sought to re-imagine its existing high school as a 21st-century learning environment. During long-range planning for the school, providing space for growing enrollment and establishing flexible learning spaces were foremost factors.
The learning environments provide students with multiple spaces in which to teach and learn. Glass-walled cubicles line the academic corridors for small group learning. Soft seating areas in new extra-wide corridors encourage collaboration.
The technology department was placed in the center core and opened up with glass so that everyone could experience the students’ creativity. The art department was moved to the second floor; it has north-facing windows and an exterior rooftop patio.
The learning center was enlarged and opened up to exceptional views. The athletics department now has a dedicated entry lobby that can be opened to the school’s cafeteria.
Expanded training facilities include physical education stations, weight training and a fitness center. New athletic locker rooms and coaches locker rooms provide easy access to the sports fields.
The project had to overcome two logisitical obstacles: keeping the building functional during construction and working within the building’s narrow corridors and stairwells. Workers took extreme care to carry out the additions and renovations in a sequence that ensured the students always had a space to learn. To deal with tight circulation corridors, lockers that had lined hallways were removed and placed into a pair of centrally situated locker commons between the existing core building and the new academic wing.

Additional Information

Product suppliers specified