How biophilic design enhanced a community school, addressed acoustical challenges, and brought nature indoors
The village of Lisle, IL, a small suburb in the Chicago metro area, is a small, tight-knit community with a vibrant cultural scene, a charming arboretum, and an annual hot air balloon festival. It’s the kind of town that consistently lands on annual “Best Places to Live” lists.
Until the 2019-20 school year, the town’s school district, known as Lisle Community Unit School District 202 (Lisle CUSD 202), included two aging elementary schools: Tate Woods for pre-kindergarten, firstgrade, and second-grade students; and Schiesher for kindergartners and third- through fifth-graders.
Having two elementary schools separated students in ways that some community members argued weren’t ideal for children and their families. Moreover, both schools were in need of expensive structural repairs and upgrades.
So during the summer of 2018, construction began on a new $39 million, 100,000-square-foot building that would bring all Lisle CUSD 202 elementary students under one school roof with modern educational facilities. The new school, which opened in August 2019, is known simply as Lisle Elementary School, and it houses up to 750 students – pre-kindergartners to fifth-graders.
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