Legat Architects
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LEED Platinum: 66% Energy Reduction

The Science and Engineering Building’s sustainable technologies reduce annual energy consumption by 66% compared to a baseline building of similar size. The 42,000-square-foot facility became one of the first Illinois community college facilities to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest energy efficiency ranking. Sustainable highlights:

  • East/west orientation and south façade maximize natural light in labs
  • Rooftop photovoltaic (solar panel) system lowers the demand on electricity
  • Green roofs reduce stormwater runoff, help moderate internal temperatures, and improve air quality
  • Chemistry lab fume hoods use variable air volume exhaust system to cut energy use
  • Rainwater harvesting system provides water for flushing 12 toilets and urinals
  • Geothermal heating and cooling system uses earth’s constant temperature to carry 90% of heating and cooling load

Atrium

Two bridges pass over the atrium, which offers living room-like alcoves for students to gather. A slim skylight runs the length of the atrium and fills the space with natural light.

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Photovoltaics

187 rooftop photovoltaic panels help power parts of the facility. One roof has a parapet so that classes can come out and explore the panels.

Sun-smart Façade

The south-facing façade allows natural light to fill the labs, but also provides shading in the summer to reduce solar heat gain.

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VAV Systems Reduce Energy Costs

Chemistry labs have between six and ten fume hoods, which use a variable air volume exhaust system to cut energy use. When the hoods are closed, the fan goes down to a minimum setting, unlike the traditional exhaust system that never slows down. The hoods communicate with a large exhaust fan on the roof.

“The labs don’t have the drab industrial feel of utilitarian labs. All the natural light coming in improves student and faculty moods.”

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Light-filled Labs

Sloped ceilings and ten-foot-tall south-facing windows fill second- and third-floor chemistry labs with natural light.

Automation, Robotics, and Mechatronics

The first-floor automation, robotics, and mechatronics lab doubles the size of the previous space. Students learn about mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems.

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“We can completely rearrange the room in no time and hook up the trainers anywhere because of the abundance of air lines and outlets in the floor.”

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Laser/Photonics/Optics

The first floor houses four labs and a central control room in the college’s Laser/Photonics/Optics program. Lab equipment ranges from instruments that measure light wavelength to lasers that cut through metal.

Bridged by Brick

The Science and Engineering Building creates a new gateway on the south end of the campus. A brick wall that combines the three colors of brick on existing campus buildings runs along the atrium’s interior.

High Purity

A tank in the mechanical suite holds 1,000 gallons of high-purity water used for lab faucets.

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