Located in the heart of the third-largest suburb of Chicago—and one of its most prominent cities—North Central College has been an anchor and dedicated community member in Naperville for more than 155 years. The 3,000-student, 65-acre campus is surrounded by historic residential neighborhoods, just blocks from the quaint downtown.  Â
The school’s newest addition, the 124,000-sf Wentz Science Center, sits on the edge of campus and was designed to engage the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as students and faculty. Public areas and flexible spaces—including a sandwich shop and events space—were incorporated into the facility to draw in the general public.
To address concerns over the size and scale of the science building, the project team worked closely with community leaders to optimize the design and programming for minimal disruption to the neighborhood. On the building’s east façade, which faces the residential neighborhood, the windows were downsized and the overall architectural expression was restrained to reflect the scale of the historic homes across the street. To minimize noise and movement, the building’s quiet functions—namely academic offices—were located along this perimeter.
By contrast, the west façade, which faces the center of campus, is designed to showcase the action within the facility. Public areas, labs, classrooms, and other lively spaces were placed along this perimeter. Large windows and three-story glass curtain wall elements maximize transparency, daylighting, and views of the campus. Electrochromic glass was installed along this façade to control solar heat gain, glare, and daylighting. The construction team built full-scale mockups to determine the best approach and to work through design and installation issues related to the dynamic glazing.
After construction commenced, the client requested that the project schedule be compressed by six weeks so that the building could be occupied by the spring semester. To meet the condensed schedule, the team employed a variety of Lean tactics, including pull-planning and streamlined overtime budgets. Rather than tracking overtime by trade, each company condensed all overtime in one collective budget. Each week during pull-planning, the team assessed what critical path trades made the most sense to work weekends based on how that work would advance the overall schedule and where the team could deliver the maximum value.
As a result, the project opened ahead of the revised schedule, and under budget.
Â
Students gather in front of the Golden Ratio Wall art installation, which symbolizes the building’s goal: to connect the arts and history with math and science. Steve Woltmann Photography.
Â
Building Team — Submitting firm, general contractor Pepper Construction Owner North Central College Architect, structural engineer Holabird & Root Civil engineer Cemcon MEP engineer Ketchmark & Associates Owner’s rep. CBRE
General Information — Size 139,000 sf Construction cost $60 million Construction time July 2015 to March 2017 Delivery method CM at risk
Â
RETURN TO THE 2018 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
Building Team Awards | Jun 14, 2017
3D-printed office: Office of the Future
Dubai kicks off 3D-printing tech initiative with a novel office project.
Building Team Awards | Jun 14, 2017
A space for all: Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Nonprofit HQ fitout improves functionality, accessibility for blind and low-vision individuals.
Building Team Awards | Jun 13, 2017
Government campus reimagined: Intelligence Community Campus
Building Team converts 1940s campus into a sleek, modern home for U.S. intelligence agencies.
Building Team Awards | Jun 13, 2017
Secluded sanctuary: Alnoba leadership training center
Leadership training center becomes New England’s first Passive House building.
Building Team Awards | Jun 12, 2017
Circles and squares: Faena Arts Center
Silver Award: The Faena Arts Center’s forum is divided into two volumes, one a cylinder, the other a cube.
Building Team Awards | Jun 12, 2017
The right prescription: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Silver Award: North Dakota builds a new medical/health sciences school to train and retain more physicians.
Building Team Awards | Jun 12, 2017
Texas technopark: TechnipFMC John T. Gremp Campus
Silver Award: TechnipFMC’s new campus marks the start of a massive planned community in north Houston.
Building Team Awards | Jun 8, 2017
Quick turnaround: Partners HealthCare
Silver Award: A 2½-year project brings Partners HealthCare’s sprawling administrative functions under one roof.
Building Team Awards | Jun 8, 2017
Raising the bar: Zurich North American Headquarters
Silver Award: Forgoing a typical center-core design, the Zurich North America Headquarters rises 11 stories across three stacked bars.
Building Team Awards | Jun 8, 2017
Team win: Clemson University Allen N. Reeves Football Operations Complex
Silver Award: Clemson gets a new football operations palace, thanks to its building partners’ ability to improvise.