Facility Tours

Thursday, May 13th 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
These tours will depart from the Navy Pier and return to the Hyatt Regency & Navy Pier.

TOUR ROUTE 1 - School Building Expo Tours
Stops will include:

Hubble Middle School
Skinner Elementary School

TOUR ROUTE 2 - College Building Expo Tours
Stops will include:

Harper Avanté Science Center
Columbia College

FACILITY TOURS

TOUR ROUTE 1 - School Building Expo Tours

Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200
Hubble Middle School Registered for LEED for Schools® Gold certification
From the wetlands surrounding it to the high-performance systems within it, Hubble Middle School sets a standard for energy efficiency and environmental respect. The 190,000 SF facility is the first middle school in Illinois to register for LEED for Schools® certification. Features include a glass bridge, a green roof, outdoor learning areas, and “collaboration zones” along the corridor.

Skinner Elementary School
The new Mark T. Skinner West Elementary School, which opened in the Fall of 2009 and achieved "Gold" LEED Certification in April 2010, is located on Chicago's Near West Side and holds more than 700 students n its three-story, 101,000 square-foot structure. Based upon the "L"-shaped prototype, Skinner is a steel frame and masonry structure that features a green roof and a re-purposed cistern as well as natural daylight and numerous I.E.Q. features.

TOUR ROUTE 2 - College Building Expo Tours

Harper Avanté Science Center
The Avanté Center at William Rainey Harper College is a state of the art learning center for programs in science, health careers and emerging technologies. The 282,000 square foot facility features a spectacular glass concourse, 27 classrooms, 9 lecture halls and 38 labs including a nursing laboratory and a working dental clinic. The 288,500 SF Avanté Center shows how design can enhance an organization's visibility and reputation. The design draws from the Latin word "avanté," meaning "to move forward," and the college's slogan: "Go Forward!" The facility's 400 rooms include a medical/dental clinic, classrooms, laboratories, computer rooms, offices, and various specialty areas. A 600-foot-long concourse connects the center's three wings and provides transparency into the college campus.

Columbia College
By making typically behind-the-scenes aspects of the filmmaking process visible, the Columbia College Media Production Center is more than a building in which learning takes place: it is itself a valuable teaching tool. Including three large sound stages for instruction in film, video and motion capture, as well as teaching space for lighting, set-making, directing and animation classes, the Media Production Center is a professional-quality facility whose design encourages a new level of interdisciplinary collaboration among students and faculty. The first new construction building in Columbia’s 118-year history, it is also an innovative model for sustainability in a discipline known for its high energy consumption.