How to avoid navigation frustration: interior design that intuitively guides users through a space Last time, I revealed some of the techniques interior design uses to fool the eye. This time, I’ll explore how design can help support wayfinding (i.e., how people find their way through a space) and therefore improve the user experience. Colors, […]
Learning
Mundelein and Glenbard West High School Additions Featured at Illinois’ Largest PreK-12 Education Conference
Suburban high schools achieve advanced science/classroom environments while covering opposite ends of the aesthetic spectrum Two strikingly different styles of architecture characterize the recent science and classroom additions at Glenbard West High School (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) and Mundelein High School (Mundelein, Illinois). The former, featuring a warm, brick-dominant traditional exterior, not only advances Glenbard West’s […]
Moline High School Breaks Ground on Bartlett Performing Arts Center
Sophisticated arts venue to honor Moline benefactor, expand educational opportunities, and enrich city’s cultural fabric Insurance executive Robert E. Bartlett (1927-1998) loved the City of Moline. He supported the regional arts scene, and anonymously donated to causes that helped economically disadvantaged students in the area. On January 9, 2018, teachers, students, and dignitaries gathered at […]
Hamilton Elementary School, Mundelein High School Win Top Architecture Awards
Interior learning environments impress jurors in American Institute of Architects’ Northeast Illinois Chapter design competition Hamilton Elementary School (Moline, Illinois) and the Mundelein High School science and classroom expansion (Mundelein, Illinois) received Merit in Architecture awards from the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Northeast Illinois (NEI) Chapter. The projects, designed by Legat Architects, claimed two […]
Marquardt School District 15 Dedicates Performing Arts Center
One campus, many talents: “wondrous” new multifunctional facility unites disciplines, connects campus, and gives every student a leg up with new opportunities and experiences [Glendale Heights, IL] – Yesterday evening, Marquardt School District 15 hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Performing Arts Center at Marquardt Middle School. Construction started in September of last […]
North Scott High School Lancer Athletic Building Brings Much Needed Fitness and Recreation Space
Gymnasium and fitness/weight room to benefit high school athletic and physical education programs, feeder schools, youth and adult community programs [Eldridge, IA] – For North Scott High School, lack of fitness and gym space was a real headache. Athletes and physical education classes crowded into a weight room. The converted band room had poor ventilation, […]
Oakton Community College Student Center: an Investment in Interaction
Students, staff influence design of new campus “living room” with best views on campus [Des Plaines, IL] – The stipulation from the Office of Student Life came early in the planning of Oakton Community College’s new Student Center: “We do not want this to be a space where students sit by themselves with their technology […]
College of Lake County Upgrades Put Student Services Center Stage
“Wow factor” drives design of additions and renovations to 45-year-old campus [Grayslake, IL] – Dr. Patrick Peyer, dean of enrollment services at College of Lake County (CLC), recently walked a former student through the college’s renovated and expanded campus. It was the ultimate test: the student hadn’t been there in two years, so she was […]
Glenbard West High School Additions/Renovations Demonstrate Community’s Focus on Education
Community-supported projects relieve overcrowding, modernize science department, and preserve style of 94-year-old high school Visitors to Glenbard West High School’s classroom addition might be surprised at something they see outside: sitting amid the self-sustaining vegetation on one rooftop garden is a metal construction beam. Closer inspection reveals teacher and student signatures on that beam. Typically, […]
College of DuPage Homeland Security Training Center Achieves LEED Certification from US Green Building Council
Airtightness, optimized energy performance prove critical in first responder training facility’s sustainable accomplishment [Glen Ellyn, IL] – The College of DuPage’s Homeland Security Training Center (HTC) has several spaces that you are unlikely to encounter at any other college or university. One of them is an interior firing range. Even though law enforcement personnel use […]
College of Lake County Dedicates Café Addition, Renovated and Expanded Student Life Spaces
Student-focused spaces bring community feel to heart of college campus [Grayslake, IL] – For years, a rarely used student communal space resembling a sunken living room sat at the center of College of Lake County’s (CLC) main campus. Today, that same space is reimagined as a light-filled Student Commons connected to a new café, Welcome […]
LaSalle-Peru High School Model Classroom Improves Engagement, Interaction, and Concentration
Students and educators agree: it’s time to upgrade the cramped, stuffy, and dated classrooms in their 90-year-old school. “There’s no way I could work in this building,” said a LaSalle-Peru High School (LPHS) visitor at the start of this school year. “It’s way too hot.” No air conditioning is just one of many signs of […]
