Intrinsic School 4540
Ave.
W. Belmont
Intrinsic School
Project Type: Chicago’s first High-School designed specifically for Blended Learning
Year Completed: 2014
Location: 4540 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago IL 60641
Square Footage: 58,000 sf
Site Area: 2.6 Acres
Grades Served: 7-12
Capacity: 920 students
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The large column-free spaces located in a highneed neighborhood provided just the place they needed for next-generation learning. There were three buildings on site, originally constructed between 1911 and 1955. All featured historic bowstring truss roofs, though one building’s roof had collapsed. One of the most dynamic buildings was an open-air, barrel-roofed shed constructed in 1955.
At least seventy-five percent of the historic structures were preserved, restored, and left exposed within the learning environments to visually connect the students with the building’s industrial past and to subtly highlight the environmental and aesthetic value of reuse.
New exterior walls on the south and west sides wrap the entry and circulation spaces, and plentiful windows are integrated into the pattern of the paneled facade. Inside, a “ship in a bottle” approach was used to create a two-story steelframed building inside the existing building. This solution is visible from the main lobby where the new overlaps the old.
The combination of new and old reflects Intrinsic’s educational tactics, where adaptive online learning is blended with traditional teaching in small groups to personalize education.
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Not many educators would look at a shuttered lumber yard on Chicago’s Northwest Side and declare it the perfect place for a new school. But Intrinsic School’s leaders weren’t looking for a traditional school, instead they were inventing a new type of learning space.
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and Guest Parking
Practice Field
Plaza
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Staff
Turf
Entry
Renovated Existing Building Bicycle Parking Vehicular Drop-Off Area New Construction Pedestrian Refuge Island Neighboring Buildings
Shared Community Facilities Middle School High School
Teaching Spaces Interior Circulation Exterior Circulation Exterior Circulation Interior Circulation Teaching Spaces High
School Middle School Shared Community Facilities
Site Plan
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First Floor Plan
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Multipurpose Room (Below) Administration Conference Room Learning Lab North Atrium
Huddle Room North Atrium Grade Level Pods Digital Lab Chemistry Lab
Mechanical Room Electrical Room Staff Room South Atrium 1 2 3 4 5
Grade Level Pods Storage Room Storage Room Mechanical Room South Atrium
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First Floor Plan
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10’ 20’ 50’ 1 3 2 4 9 5 6 7 10 11 13 12 8 8 8 8 3 14 20’ 10’ 50’ 6 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10
Multipurpose Room Warming Kitchen Storage Learning Lab Reception Huddle Room North Atrium Grade Level Pods Digital Lab Chemistry Lab Mechanical Room Electrical Room Staff Room South Atrium
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Multipurpose Room Warming Kitchen Storage Learning Lab Reception
Second Floor Plan
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Each pod is comprised of a large open area adjacent to a traditional acoustically-isolated classroom. The right-hand pod focuses on the Humanities, while the left-hand pod concentrates on STEM.
The open area of each pod is designed for rotating between different modes of learning. A “coastline” of individual desks, furnished in both standing and sitting heights, provides a place for personalized online learning, where students learn at their own pace.
“Exchange Tables”, situated under an oversized light shade, host peer-to-peer learning. Two “popup class” areas provide teachers a place where they can remediate a common misunderstanding or reinforce a newly learned concept with up to 12 students. Instead of diminishing the teacher’s role with technology, Intrinsic enables them to more effectively use their time and talent.
Students are immersed in a much larger social network than their counterparts in traditional schools. These larger networks promote encounters between students of different abilities and backgrounds, enriching their experience.
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There are no 30-student classrooms, hallway lockers, or double-loaded corridors. Instead, up to 180 students and 8 teachers rotate within interconnected pods dedicated to each grade level.
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Typical Pod Configuration
THE OCEAN
THE OCEAN POP-UP CLASS
The Ocean
These soft seating risers are used as an alternative learning location for students during independent study periods.
Pop-Up Class
Prompted by real-time metrics, an instructor can gather up to 10 students struggling with the same concept and mediate understanding with an impromptu direct-instruction session around an interactive whiteboard.
GENIUS BAR COASTLINE
Genius Bar
Typically attended by one instructor, this primary supervision location also serves as a place where any student can seek counsel.
Coastline
THE OCEAN POP-UP CLASS GENIUS BAR COASTLINE
As the most introspective space in the pod, the Coastline affords students a place to focus on personalized learning, primarily mediated through digitally delivered video and audio on Chromebooks outfitted with earbuds. On the Coastline, each student learns at their own velocity, achieving mastery of foundational concepts before tackling more ambitious ones.
The Exchange, or Shade
THE EXCHANGE
THE EXCHANGE
As the home of collaborative learning, this is the place where students actively engage with one another, making connections and elaborating on topics to achieve a deeper and more durable understanding. A light fixture with an oversized shade hovers over the tables, serving both as a landmark and an acoustical absorber.
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POP-UP CLASS GENIUS BAR COASTLINE THE EXCHANGE 1 2
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18 2 POD DETAIL 1 SEMINAR ROOM 1 LABORATORY 2 SEMINAR ROOM 1 Laboratory 2 Seminar Room
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Credits:
Client: Intrinsic School 4540 W. Belmont Ave Chicago, IL 60641 t: 708.887.2735
Architect: Wheeler Kearns Architects 343 S Dearborn St. Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60604 t: 312.939.7787
General Contractor: Clune Construction Co. 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 2200 Chicago, IL 60606 t: 312.726.6103
Landscape Architect: Wolff Landscape 307 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 601 Chicago, IL 60601 t: 312.663.5494
Structural: Enspect Engineering 8300 Mississippi St. Merrillville, IN 46410 t: 219.525.3102
Civil Engineer: Terra Engineering 225 W. Ohio Street, 4th Floor Chicago, IL 60654 t: 312.467.0123
MEP Engineer: McGuire Engineers, Inc. 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1650 Chicago, IL 60606 t: 312.876.9240
Acoustical Consultant: Threshold Acoustics 141 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 2080 Chicago, IL 60604 t: 312.386.1400
Owners Rep: RMC International 401 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 2910 Chicago, IL 60611 t: 773.802.5632
Photography: Steve Hall - Hedrich Blessing 400 North Peoria Street Chicago, IL 60642 t: 312.491.1101
Aerial Photography: Aerial Impressions 1321 Upland Drive, Suite 2049 Houston, TX 77043 t: 877.533.9003
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