William Jones College Preparatory High School, Chicago, by Perkins+Will
James Steinkamp Photography William Jones College Preparatory High School, Chicago, by Perkins+Will

Category: Grow
Honorable Mention

The William Jones College Preparatory High School is located on a compact 100- by 400-foot site just south of Chicago’s Loop. The design by the Chicago office of Perkins+Will is a vertical solution that stacks large and small spaces within 278,000 square feet. Classrooms run the length of the building on the fourth and fifth floors, linked to major gathering spaces through the lobby and a commons that rises the height of the structure from the main entrance. The primary spaces requiring long-span solutions—the natatorium and the gymnasium—are located at the top, where outdoor terraces provide students and spectators with views of Grant Park to the east. The mix of uses is expressed on the highly varied exterior façade of unitized curtainwall, composite metal panel rainscreen cladding, and insulated precast concrete panels—visually integrated through a regular pattern of GFRC precast covered columns.

See all of the winners of ARCHITECT's 2014 Annual Design Review here.

Aerial view.
James Steinkamp Photography Aerial view.
View from above CTA.
James Steinkamp Photography View from above CTA.
Elevation view.
James Steinkamp Photography Elevation view.
Daylighting reaches the interior.
James Steinkamp Photography Daylighting reaches the interior.
Plans.
Courtesy Perkins+Will Plans.

Project Credits Project  William Jones College Preparatory High School, Chicago
Client  Public Building Commission of Chicago / Chicago Public Schools
Architect  Perkins+Will, Chicago—Ralph Johnson, FAIA (design principal); Mike Palmer, AIA (managing principal); Bruce Toman, AIA (technical principal); Bryan Schabel, AIA (senior project designer); Chris Hale, AIA (senior project manager); Kristin Rosebrough, AIA (senior project architect); Aimee Eckmann, Eileen Pedersen, Ian Bush, Daniel Ferrario, Gokul Natarajan, Dennis Blaul, Gelacio Arias, Peter Frisbee, Kyle Knudson, John Kitson (project team)
Associate Architect  The Architects Enterprise, Chicago
Civil Engineer  Terra Engineering
Landscape Architect  Site Design Group
Structural Engineers  Halvorson and Partners; Drucker Zajdel Structural Engineers
M/E/P/FP Engineer  Primera Engineers
Acoustical and Audiovisual Consultant  Talaske
Theater Design Consultant  Schuler Shook
Food Service  Cini-Little International
Swimming Pool Consultant  Bill Robertson Pool Design
General Contractor  Walsh
Size  278,000 square feet
Cost  $90.9 million (construction)