Oakton's New LEED Building

Oakton Community College Science and Health Careers Center - New LEED Building

In 2014, a new building will rest beside the lake at the heart of Oakton Community College’s Des Plaines, Illinois campus. The 93,000-square-foot facility will celebrate the campus, which sits within a forest preserve, and reinforce the college’s commitment to sustainability.

The three-level center, widens as it rises to create a new campus gateway and reduces the building’s footprint (i.e., the amount of land it occupies). This tiered strategy also shades the building’s windows, as well as a plaza beside the lake.

The Oakton campus https://www.oakton.edu/ is next to the Des Plaines River flood plain. Designers used piers to raise the building seven-and-a-half feet above ground; during floods, water will actually flow beneath the building.

A Healthy LEED

Oakton will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the facility from the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility’s high-performance systems maximize solar heat gain and mitigate winter winds. For instance, one system uses exhaust air to preheat and cool supply air. This cuts heating and cooling loads. The daylight harvesting system brings natural light to 75 percent of the classrooms, while an energy-generating photovoltaic sunshade keeps the building cool during summer months.