Adlai E. Stevenson High School East Building Addition

Located in Lincolnshire, Illinois, this 56,000 SF addition to Adlai E. Stevenson High School’s 5,000 student campus was completed in 2019. The goal of this project was to provide additional spaces for rising enrollment. The four-story east building addition consists of classrooms, science labs, multipurpose areas, a greenhouse, green roof spaces, and common areas including a two-story living wall.

The Adlai E. Stevenson High School building is net-zero energy, and all electricity is generated from photovoltaic arrays mounted on the roofs of the addition and the existing building. A roof garden, on top of the third floor, was added to help maximize the benefits of the project. Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) consultants have provided engineering services for Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125 since 1987. The Adlai E. Stevenson East Building Addition was another step in the completion of the campus master plan that EEA helped develop in the early 1990s.

Stormwater conveyance and control were handled by a system that had been developed successfully decades earlier. EEA provided civil engineering and landscape architecture for this addition. The first step in the new Master Plan was to keep up with the changing needs of the District and continuous coordination with the nearby residents and the village. The addition included net-zero design elements such as stormwater treatment and infiltration, permeable pavements, and appropriate low water use landscaping. This project provided the opportunity for EEA Landscape Architecture to work in collaboration with the high school architect and the whole design team. Both teams strived to develop a unique learning environment for the Adlai E. Stevenson High School Community. The landscape focused on the use of native and adaptive species to reduce the need for permanent irrigation, reducing the consumption of water, and achieving LEED Platinum certification for this project.

This addition has received three awards. The first award received was the 2020 ENR Midwest Best Green project. This addition has won the 2020 Award of Distinction in the annual Exhibition of Educational Environments, sponsored by IASB Service Associates. Lastly, the ASHRAE Region VI 2021 Technology 1st Place Award, under the education category as given to the East Building Addition Phase 1. The 21-month project was completed on budget and on time in July 2019.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School, East Building Addition is the first verified Net Zero Energy building in Illinois.