Community gathering spaces, an open-turf field, and a state-of-the-art training facility. A three-story living wall, sleek new locker rooms, and a health café serving the freshest fruits, vegetables, and smoothies. Flexible meeting rooms and 90,000 additional square feet of learning space filled with light and designed with many sustainable factors. The field house and fitness addition roofs will be covered with new solar panels, a green roof is located at the student services addition, and the living wall uses reclaimed water and filters the air. Portions of this project are anticipated to achieve net zero, LEED Gold and WELL Certification which is an impressive feat after Gilbane’s previous addition on campus, which was the first school in Illinois to achieve net zero.
In every dimension and detail of the $55 million Adlai E. Stevenson High School project (which also included doubling the size of their field house, turned over to the school August 2021), the health, wellness, and educational experience of students is the driving force.
When COVID-19 forced the school to close, Gilbane charged forward, tackling supply chain challenges along the way to deliver the ahead of schedule and under budget. The second phase of the project was completed while the school was operational, making student safety a top priority as the team tied in existing features to the new addition. And it was against the backdrop of a global pandemic that the team delivered some of its best work to date, simultaneously celebrating a wedding, 3 births, and 4 employee promotions along the way. On the project site and beyond, it was a challenging yet rewarding time for the team, and with students back in the halls at Stevenson, the work has paid off.
Gilbane has worked with Stevenson for nearly 30 years, making them one of the most trusted and valued partners in the company’s 44-year history in the Chicago area. This latest project stands out, though, for its beauty, its complexity, and its unprecedented commitment to sustainability. In fact, more than 78% of construction waste generated during the project was recycled.
Most importantly, Stevenson High School and its new educational facilities stand out as being the latest effort in a student-centered approach that is meeting the demands—and exceeding the expectations—of a school community that had been bursting at the seams. The population in the Lincolnshire area has exploded over the past decade, and this expansion was conceived to ensure that Stevenson can meet demand.
At the beautiful new Stevenson High School, students, faculty, families, and the community will find that and more—enjoying learning spaces that are not just up to code, but that engage students in their education and empower them to explore and discover new things.
