[Chicago, IL] – Educational and architectural communities alike have commended the British International School of Chicago’s recently completed South Loop campus for its technology-rich learning environments. The facility reflects the school’s personalized, high-quality approach to learning in everything from the façade along 9th and Wells to the furniture within its rooms.
The institution challenged Legat Architects’ interiors team to create a furnishings, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) package as modern and striking as the rest of the building, designed by Antunovich Associates.
Today, a diverse collection of seating, desks, and tables supports the school’s acclaimed international curriculum. The furniture ranges from the interactive stools and vivid, curving tables in the Early Years spaces to the sophisticated collaborative benching system with double computer monitors and the maple-top workbenches in the Design Technology room.
Legat, which led the institution’s Lincoln Park Campus renovations, worked closely with the South Loop campus’s lead architect/interior designer Antunovich.
Sylvia Kowalk, director of interior design at Legat, said, “The furnishings had to support the school’s emphasis on creativity and personalized instruction, while maintaining the strong design that you see in the curves, colors, and materials throughout the building.”
Kowalk and her team drew from their experience at both preK-12 and higher education campuses to select more sophisticated furnishings. For instance, in many cases, they specified bright, but not primary colors.
Following are other examples of innovative furniture within the new South Loop campus:
- In the Design Technology room and Art rooms, maple-top tables with stools and metal storage hark back to the traditional wood shop, while still conveying an industrial, contemporary look.
- Rolling chairs and tables with retractable monitors offer flexibility in the Information Communications Technology room.
- Vibrant rounded ottomans encourage spontaneous interaction and gathering in breakout areas along the entry and corridor.
- High-top café-style seating, restaurant-style booths, and lower tables in different shapes offer a variety of seating options in the cafeteria.
- Mobile, organically-shaped bookcases with integrated seating divide the Primary Library and act as a storyteller seating bench.
- Activity stations within the Early Years multipurpose room invite students to play, explore, and learn.
Tour the South Loop campus courtesy Curbed Chicago.
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