UChicago Child Development Center - Stony Island

UChicago Child Development Center - Stony Island 5824 S. Stony Island

UChicago Child Development Center - Stony Island Project Type: Day Care Center Year Completed: 2013 Location: 5824 S. Stony Island, Chicago IL 60637 Square Footage: 13,300 sf Grades Served: 6 weeks to 5 years Number of Students: 24 LEED: Gold

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1M ile

METRA RAIL LINE

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CAMPUS NORTH

S University Ave

E 57th St

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MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

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MAIN QUADRANGLE

CAMPUS EAST

LABORATORY SCHOOL

MIDWAY PLAISANCE PARK

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UChicago Child Development Center Stony Island

JACKSON PARK

CAMPUS SOUTH

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First Floor Plan

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Entry/Waiting Area

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West Playcourt

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Neighboring high-rise Residential

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Staff Office

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Gross Motor Room

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Neighboring Garage

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Staff Lounge

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Infant Classroom

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Neighboring Elementary School

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Transition Classroom

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Toddler Classroom

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Shared Driveway

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Preschool Classroom

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East Playcourt

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Drop off Area

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Food Prep

Support Services

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Metra Rail Line

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Inspired by an adjacent historic landscape, the University of Chicago Childcare Development Center Stony Island integrates the natural environment with its architecture and child-centered curriculum.

Instead of creating a place dominated by synthetic play equipment and primary colors, the design allows children to be immersed in the natural world to discover first principles first-hand.

Consequently, the design emphasizes the natural landscape over the built-one, centered around two playscapes with a footprint larger than the building itself.

The 13,300 square foot facility is more “lookwithin-me” than “look-at-me.” Rather than competing with the size or glamour of the adjacent University buildings, the focus of the center remains on the child’s perspective and outdoor play. Consequently, the richness of experience hugs the ground.

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At the facility’s emotional center, formed by the overlap of the two classroom wings, families check-in by using a touch-screen monitor and connect with care providers. From this central location, children get a preview of their day: Fullheight windows reveal the east play court as the natural bark siding extends inside.

The adjacent gross motor room, filled with an array of activities, has a wall of glass revealing the west play court. The folding roof ripples over both wings, allowing natural light into the classrooms below. Unlike most green roofs, the one covering the east wing is readily visible from the ground.

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Those walking to the center from the south, encounter a six-foot high gabion fence on a berm along the sidewalk, with undulating lifts of white, buff, and dark green colored stones covered in climbing vines. As they turn toward the center’s main doors, huge glacial boulders line the meandering path, completing a secure, but discreet perimeter for the east playcourt. Instead of appearing as an impenetrable fortress, the center offers up natural textures and scale in a way that keeps security in the background and wondering and learning in the foreground.

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Unencumbered open plan tandem classrooms are leveraged for long-term flexibility and adaptability.

Common classroom-related support functions including teacher workstations, diaper changing, children lavatories and toilets are placed in a shared zone between pairs of classrooms. The open sharing arrangement allows teachers to supervise the other classroom when needed.

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This project insists that nature, play, and learning should be seamless - during all four seasons.

Children’s experience here should impart a curiosity for a lifetime of learning, coaxed by a rich range of natural textures, materials, shapes, sizes, events, and challenges.

Natural phenomena, typically concealed within buildings, are left in plain view. Sisal rope clad “splash tanks”, located below each roof scupper, allow children to witness rainwater cascading.

Wind, so prominent close to the lake, is evidenced in the rustling of the green roof, the swaying branches, and the droplets blowing from the rain chain. Children learn about their senses through interaction and hands-on experiences with nature.

The two play courts offer an intentionally designed world of discovery for children. The eastern wing and court provide spaces for infants and toddlers, while the west wing and court are dedicated to

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older children. Each age group has a dedicated indoor area with a door to an age-appropriate natural outdoor play area within the court. Low fences subdivide areas of the court allowing younger children to readily observe older children while ensuring the exclusivity of their own environment.

If children learn what they live, they will not only learn from nature here, but they will learn to value it. The center is infused with this spirit.

Additionally, the curriculum of the center is fully integrated with the mission.

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1. Raised Garden Boxes

7. Sand Play

2. Green Roof

3. Splash Tanks Below Valleys

8. Tree cookies floored willow tunnel

9. Gabion Fence

4. Bark Siding

5. Clerestory

6. Solar Reflective Roof

10. Musical Chimes

11. Glacial Boulders

12. Permeable Pavers/Vehicle Drop-Off

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Backfilled concrete foundations of the east wing; December 2012

Roof deck installation over the west wing; January 2013

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Installation of the hydronic tubing for the radiant floors; January 2013

Wall studs installed along the West Playcourt; February 2013

Grading of the East Playcourt; June 2013

Final landscaping of the West Playcourt; June 2013

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Clay study model of boulder placements; February 2013

Picking boulder number six

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Surveying boulder number five in subzero conditions in Central Wisconsin; January 2013

Panorama of site at the start of the second day of setting boulders. The 100-ton crane was staged in the East Playcourt; May 2013

Off-loading boulder number five

Setting boulder number six

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Energy Flow & Savings

Electrical Usage

Comparison of Energy Usage of U-Chicago Child Development Center Stony Island with that of an ASHRAE 90.1-2007 High Performance Analog.

The majority of increased energy savings accrues from the intelligent operation of the building’s ventilation fans.

Comparison of the electrical energy usage of UChicago’s Child Development Center Stony Island with that of an ASHRAE 90 1-2007 High Performance Analog. The greatest savings accrue in winter due to efficient ventilation.

Comparison of the Energy Usage of UChicago’s Stony Island Child Development Center with that of an ASHRAE 90. 1-2007 High Performance Analog. The majority of increased energy savings accrues from the intelligent operation of the building’s ventilation fans.

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Stony Elec

Stony Gas

Baseline Elec

Baseline Gas

Energy Delta

Primary heating

Water Heating

Cooling Compressor

Condensor Fans

Air Supply Fans

Pumps

Lighting

Receptacles

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February CDD65

June

April 90.1 kWh

Designed kWh

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Bioclimatic Design

Stormwater Management

Secure Exterior Playscape

The exterior wall framing was insulated behind the gypsum sheathing with spray foam to provide an air tight barrier. Furring strips for the exterior cladding, which were fabricated to minimize thermal shorts, were installed over insulating sheathing. A green roof covers the east wing, and a reflective membrane roof covers the west wing.

Impact of rain water falling on site of the U-Chicago Child Development Center before and after the construction for both 2-year and 100-year storm events. By reducing rain water runoff and allowing on-site ground water recharging, a site that formerly discharged 100% of its runoff to the City’s sewers will now only discharge storm water of rain water falling on the site of the UChicago Child Developfor 11% of theImpact storms occurring during an average ment Center before and after the construction for both 2-year and 100-year storm events. By reducing both rain water runoff and allowing two-year period. on-site ground water recharging, a site that formerly discharged 100% of

The amount of secure exterior playspace provided at the UChicago Child Development Center Stony Island exceeds code minimums and NAEYC standards for both staggered and concurrent use of the play courts.

The amount of secure exterior playspace provided at the UChicago Stony Island Child Development Center exceeds code minimums and NAEYC standards for both staggered and concurrent use of the play courts.

its runoff to the City’s sewers will now only discharge storm water for 11% of the storms occurring during an average two-year period.

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Concurrent Play Requirement

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Staggered Play NAEYC Requirement

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Staggered Play Code Requirement

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Infiltrated Volume (cf)

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Area (sf)

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“Well done. Nicely scaled and sensitively detailed. I want my granddaughter to play here. The opportunities for exploration are fantastic. The sensitive site placement next to the high rise is brilliant. Very playful solution for a very important building type that is often trivialized.”

- 2015 AIA IL Honor Awards Jury “There are many appealing and original ideas in this building. The highly original use of natural material integrated into exterior play areas includes massive boulders and stone crib walls as security fences and bark as wall cladding. The simple linear plan of the building with its green roofs makes a larger than life gesture out of a relatively small program, reflecting the expansive lakefront park beyond. There is no plastic to be seen, in keeping with the philosophy of the school. The use of ‘real’ ‘materials, not just primary colors extends to the restrained.”

- 2014 AIA/CAE Educational Facility Design Excellence Jury

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Credits:

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Awards:

Owner: University of Chicago 5801 South Ellis Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 www.uchicago.edu v: 773.702.1234

MEP and Civil Engineer: Primera Engineering 100 South Wacker Drive, Ste 700 Chicago, IL 60606 www.primeraeng.com v: 312.606.0910

2015 2015

Operator: Bright Horizons 200 Talcott Avenue, South Watertown, MA 02472 www.brighthorizons.com v: 617.673.8000

Structural Engineer: Thornton-Tomasetti 330 N. Wabash Ave, Ste 1500 Chicago, IL 60611 www.thorntontomasetti.com v: 312.596.2000

2013

Architect: Wheeler Kearns Architects 343 S Dearborn St. Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60604 www.wkarch.com v: 312.939.7787

Acoustician: Threshold Acoustics 141 West Jackson Blvd, Ste 2080 Chicago, IL 60604 www.thresholdacoustics.com v: 312.386.1400

General Contractor: Leopardo 5200 Prairie Stone Parkway Hoffman Estates, IL 60192 www.leopardo.com v: 847.783.3000

Aerial Photography: Josh Duensing 80JD Photography joshduensing@gmail.com www.80jd.net t: 615.513.2989

Landscape Architect: MIG 800 Hearst Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 www.migcom.com v: 510.845.7549

Photography: Steve Hall - Hedrich Blessing 400 North Peoria Street Chicago, IL 60642 t: 312.491.1101

2014 2014

USGBC Emerald Award / Green Building Innovation AIA IL Honor Award Frank Lloyd Wright Award for New Design or Renovation, Bronze Award National AIA/CAE Educational Facility Design Excellence Award USGBC Building Chicago / Greening the Heartland Education Program Chicago Architecture Foundation Patron of the Year, Nominee