Photos: SAFTI FIRST
Project: Ridgewood High School
Location: Norridge, Ill.
Architect: DLA Architects
Glazier: Lake Shore Glass
Products: SuperLite II-XL 60 and SuperLite II-XL 60 Satin Etch in GPX Framing
Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Ill., is a school that boasts fantastic facilities within a modest footprint. A short 10-minute drive from Chicago O’Hare airport, Ridgewood High is a good example of how urban schools must utilize space economically to create the largest possible and most effective learning, performance and sporting environments.
For a recent renovation of a stairwell and its connecting exit corridors, Ridgewood looked to DLA Architects for help with their daylighting and fire protection needs.
In order to meet the code requirements and maximize the daylight penetrating into the building, the architects decided to use fire rated glass in the one-hour exit corridor. Because the glazing exceeds 25% of the wall area, fire resistive glass and framing assemblies rated equal to the wall had to be used.
The design team specified SuperLite II-XL 60 in GPX Framing to create transparent wall systems that feature superior optical clarity from the glass and clean, storefront-like appearance from the framing, while providing safe egress to occupants and visual access for fire fighters in the event of a fire. As Ridgewood lies under the approach path into O’Hare airport, the high STC ratings provided by SuperLite II-XL 60 proved to be an added benefit.
Ridgewood High School had other design requirements that SAFTI FIRST was able to meet. Part of the renovation included a private office for security personnel, and Ridgewood wanted increased privacy for this location while maintaining the natural daylighting aspects and maximum fire protection featured throughout the school.
To meet these requirements, SAFTI FIRST supplied SuperLite II-XL 60 with a Satin Etch. SuperLite II-XL can be easily customized to include various decorative make-ups as well as added protection against forced entry, bullets, blast and hurricane, and UV. As seen in the accompanying project photo, the security office at Ridgewood also features a segmented application of the GPX Framing.
Typical of school renovations, this phase of Ridgewood’s renovation had to be completed while students were on vacation. SAFTI FIRST “was very assistive in the design, schedule and shipping to keep this tight summer project on schedule,” says Greg Crider of Lake Shore Glass, the company hired to install the fire rated system.
The finish used on the GPX Framing cohesively ties together other black accents in the flooring, skirting, and other areas that create a thematic look throughout the interiors of various buildings at Ridgewood High School. The final result is a renovation that improves the safety and security of all building occupants, providing enhanced privacy where required while also maximizing overall daylight.
Related Stories
| Nov 16, 2010
Architecture Billings Index: inquiries for new projects remain extremely high
The new projects inquiry index was 61.7, down slightly from a nearly three-year high mark of 62.3 in September, according to the Architecture Billings Index (ABI). However, the ABI dropped nearly two points in October; the October ABI score was 48.7, down from a reading of 50.4 the previous month. The ABI reflects the approximate nine to 12 month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 16, 2010
Calculating office building performance? Yep, there’s an app for that
123 Zero build is a free tool for calculating the performance of a market-ready carbon-neutral office building design. The app estimates the discounted payback for constructing a zero emissions office building in any U.S. location, including the investment needed for photovoltaics to offset annual carbon emissions, payback calculations, estimated first costs for a highly energy efficient building, photovoltaic costs, discount rates, and user-specified fuel escalation rates.
| Nov 16, 2010
CityCenter’s new Harmon Hotel targeted for demolition
MGM Resorts officials want to demolish the unopened 27-story Harmon Hotel—one of the main components of its brand new $8.5 billion CityCenter development in Las Vegas. In 2008, inspectors found structural work on the Harmon didn’t match building plans submitted to the county, with construction issues focused on improperly placed steel reinforcing bar. In January 2009, MGM scrapped the building’s 200 condo units on the upper floors and stopped the tower at 27 stories, focusing on the Harmon having just 400 hotel rooms. With the Lord Norman Foster-designed building mired in litigation, construction has since been halted on the interior, and the blue-glass tower is essentially a 27-story empty shell.
| Nov 16, 2010
Where can your firm beat the recession? Try any of these 10 places
Wondering where condos and rental apartments will be needed? Where companies are looking to rent office space? Where people will need hotel rooms, retail stores, and restaurants? Newsweek compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for economic recovery. The cities fall into three basic groups: Texas, the New Silicon Valleys, and the Heartland Honeys. Welcome to the recovery.
| Nov 16, 2010
Landscape architecture challenges Andrés Duany’s Congress for New Urbanism
Andrés Duany, founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, adopted the ideas, vision, and values of the early 20th Century landscape architects/planners John Nolen and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., to launch a movement that led to more than 300 new towns, regional plans, and community revitalization project commissions for his firm. However, now that there’s a societal buyer’s remorse about New Urbanism, Duany is coming up against a movement that sees landscape architecture—not architecture—as the design medium more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience.
| Nov 16, 2010
Just for fun: Words that architects use
If you regularly use such words as juxtaposition, folly, truncated, and articulation, you may be an architect. Architects tend to use words rarely uttered during normal conversations. In fact, 62% of all the words that come out of an architects mouth could be replaced by a simpler and more widely known word, according to this “report.” Review this list of designer words, and once you manage to work them into daily conversation, you’re on your way to becoming a bonafide architect.
| Nov 16, 2010
NFRC approves technical procedures for attachment product ratings
The NFRC Board of Directors has approved technical procedures for the development of U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and visible transmittance (VT) ratings for co-planar interior and exterior attachment products. The new procedures, approved by unanimous voice vote last week at NFRC’s Fall Membership Meeting in San Francisco, will add co-planar attachments such as blinds and shades to the group’s existing portfolio of windows, doors, skylights, curtain walls, and window film.
