Adaptive reuse projects are gaining momentum in Chicago, and for a good reason. One of the more exciting projects in the Windy City that falls into this category is the new Intrinsic Schools Belmont campus in Old Irving Park. Designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects, the school transformed an old lumberyard into a contemporary educational facility, while utilizing about 75 percent of the existing structure. And having been a lumberyard, the building features a beautiful bowstring truss construction from solid wood columns. Originally built in 1954, the reworked facility opened last August and features brand new classrooms and labs (or "pods" as the school calls them), an outdoor soccer field and a gymnasium that showcases the old wooden truss construction.
Wheeler Kearns Architects: Intrinsic School - Designing for a new teaching model from 80JD on Vimeo.
·Intrinsic School Chicago, IL, United States [Architizer]
·Belmont Campus [Intrinsic Schools]
·Intrinsic School [Wheeler Kearns]