The British School at Roosevelt Collection

The British School at Roosevelt Collection

Chicago, Illinois

The design of this school facility integrates a rooftop play area and park facility atop this new structure, a soccer field at street level, and an adjacent pocket park.

The project's South Loop site was subject to Chicago's Planned Development (PD) zoning ordinance and required a substantial change in land use. To facilitate entitlements allowing the project to proceed, our team made presentations to the Department of Buildings, the Department of Housing and Economic Development, and the Plan Commission.

The design team collaborated closely with the structural engineer to accommodate a random placement of trees on the roof. The final structural system provided more flexibility in the creation of the park, allowing an informal, naturalistic landscape with native prairie plantings. These spaces were organized around a curvilinear walkway providing students, faculty, and visitors spectacular views of the Chicago skyline to the north and east.