Holy Family Lutheran School

Photos

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Holy Family Lutheran School photo #1

Honor Award

  • FGM Architects Inc.
  • Holy Family Lutheran Ministries
  • Consultants Amsco Engineering (MEP); C.E. Anderson & Associates (structural); Terra Engineering (civil)
  • Division Institutional
  • Location Chicago, IL

Overview

On a parcel of land on the old Lawndale headquarters of Sears, Roebuck & Co., this project serves a trio of purposes in the community. It contained a school for 300 under-privileged students and a chapel that would double as a community performing arts center. Jurors appreciated the design team's thoughtful approach to creating handsome spaces for all three, beginning at an outdoor garden entry. Here, the colored sunlight passing through stained glass signals to kids that it's time to bring down the energy level for a school day. During performances, the same area provides inviting spill-out space from the adjacent lobby. The chapel is sited within a block-long row of structures—from the original, century-old Sears Tower to a Chicago Park District community center—that together create a steady institutional anchor for the neighborhood. The school section, zoned vertically by school grade, sits at the rear, its floating, perforated roof communicating welcome and haven. Roof-level playgrounds would allay concerns about children's safety in the neighborhood. Along with its commendable role in redevelopment of an urban area, as designed, the project was to have such sustainable features as a green roof science garden, rainwater collection, gray-water toilets and light shelves.