Location
3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60657 Map

Owner
Center on Halsted

Architect
Gensler

Image Provided By
ImageFiciton

3656 N. Halsted

Center on Halsted is a 3-story, 175,000 sf community center serving Chicago’s LGBT community with offices and meeting space, a gymnasium, and a small performance space. A Whole Foods supermarket is on the first floor and there are two levels of underground parking. Construction began in summer of 2005 and is scheduled for completion in late 2007. The project is seeking LEED® Silver certificatiion.

In addition, the southern half of the front elevation will be faced with the preserved terra cotta facade from a parking garage previously on the site. The parking garage was an ‘orange landmark’ subject to the city’s Demolition Delay Ordinance. Although a hardcore preservationist may decry this as facadism, for a parking garage with questionable interior value it certainly seems an appropriate response. The green building and preservation movements could be clear allies, but haven’t yet come together that frequently. So it’s interesting to see their (however limited) intersection here.

The project’s most novel green feature is a greywater system that collects roof runoff, stores it in a tank in the basement, and then filters and treats the water prior to using it to flush toilets. Other than for irrigation, this type of system is not explicitly allowed by the Chicago Building Code - the project successfully obtained approval from the Committee on Standards and Tests for the system. This is the second greywater system approved in Chicago.

Energy use is expected to be 30% less than a minimally code-compliant building, fairly good for a building using off-the-shelf, high-efficiency rooftop units rather than a more advanced mechanical system. The lobby area includes a natural ventilation system using a rooftop fan to pull air through operable windows, which will be an interesting amenity for cafe patrons. Note that although Whole Foods elected for gas heat, the remainder of the Center uses electric resistance heating (see One South Dearborn for my rant).

All of the usual green materials and construction practices are included here. In addition, the Center plans to host public education programs (translation: tours) of the building. Most non-profits with green buildings are not making a long-term commitment to this sort of education, so the Center should be applauded. Other project team members includes MEP conceptual designer ESD, commissioning agent EYP, structural engineer Halvorson and Partners, and construction manager Power. The Center has received a challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation which they are still collecting donations to meet.