Merit in Architecture Winner

Village of Orland Park Police Headquarters

The existing Orland Park Police Station was severely undersized for the Department and no longer met current law enforcement operational requirements.  The former land-locked site did not allow for expansion, and so a decision was made to purchase and transform an existing commercial warehouse into the new police headquarters.  The conversion included completely gutting the interior of the existing carpet warehouse and showroom facility, construction of two additions and construction of a new building shell.  The result was a dramatic new exterior appearance and a dynamic, daylight-filed interior.

At the beginning of the project, the design team conducted a workshop with the Village and Police staff to establish sustainability goals. The workshop became the turning point in the project because it not only outlined the sustainable goals in more definitive terms, it ignited a level of excitement among the entire project team and gave the green initiatives a sense of tangibility.

The building is highly sustainable for a multitude of reasons, but there are several distinguishing factors:

No potable water is used for landscaping.  Native plants and grasses require far less artificial watering than traditional plantings.  In addition, all water used for landscape watering is collected from the building’s roof and stored in an underground cistern.  This water is pumped to a pressurized irrigation system with quick-couple hose connections.

The building uses 35.7% less energy than is required by ASHRAE 90.1-1999, the governing energy code.  Three basic strategies were used to accomplish this high level of energy efficiency: a high performance building envelope, a high performance HVAC system, and a highly efficient lighting system, featuring less than one watt per square foot.  This LEED™ Gold project enhances the work experience and health of staff and the experience of visitors while preserving the earth’s resources.  The Orland Park Police Station serves not only as a symbol of public safety for the Village, but also as indication of the forward-thinking, environmental consciousness of the community.

2008 AIA NEI Sponsors

Platinum
AMSCO Engineering
M.G. Welbel & Assoc.

Gold
Berg Engineering Consultants, Ltd.

Silver
20/10 Engineering Group, LLC
AVI Midwest
Degler Design, Inc.
Design Perspectives
Drucker Zajdel Structural Engineers
ECS Illinois, LLC
Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd.
Euclid Insurance
Illinois Brick Company
R. I. Johnson & Associates
Northfield Block Co.
W.B. Olson, Inc
Ragnar Benson Construction, LLC
The George Sollitt Construction Co.
W-T Engineering

Contributor
Aerotek Architecture & Engineering
Aucutts - A Robinson Brick Co.
Building Stone Products
City Five Development
Clay Products
McCluskey Engineering Corp.
Metro Design Associates, Inc.
RAMM Brick & Supply

We extend a special “Thank you!” to our new and returning 2008 sponsors. Sponsors enable AIA Northeast Illinois to provide many of the programs and events that are held during the year. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please call the chapter office at 630/527-8550.