Monday, November 25, 2013

Award of Merit

The Niles North High School Aquatics Center was one of three projects to receive an Award of Merit in the 2013 Exhibition ofEducational Environments, a competition sponsored by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), and Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO). The award applauds excellence in educational environment design, energy efficiency, and safety.


“It feels great to know that our school district continues to lead the state and nation when it comes to building sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and energy-efficient facilities,” said Ryan McTague, Niles North principal. “We are very proud of the example our school is setting for educational institutions and communities throughout our nation.”

The project was on display at the conference, one of the nation’s largest state education conferences. Among its 9,000 attendees were school board members, superintendents, administrators, state and regional educators and officials, and university staff. 




Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Grand Opening Goes Swimmingly

The formal Grand Opening for the Niles North Aquatics Center took place Friday morning, followed by a Community Open House on Saturday.  For more information on the event, please click HERE.


The Open House offered the Community a chance to observe a Girls Swimming and Diving Practice


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Community Open House

The public is invited to the Community Open House for the Niles North High School Aquatics Center held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 19 at 9800 Lawler, Skokie. Tour the state-of-the-art facilities, watch the Niles North swimmers/divers in action, and learn about community swim lessons and other opportunities

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Almost Open...

The Niles North Aquatics Center is slated to become the first LEED for Schools Gold certified aquatics facility in Illinois. The design reduces energy use by 44% compared to a standard code-compliant building of similar size, resulting in annual energy savings of 31.5%.  The Grand Opening of the Facility is slated for October, but you can see images of the completed facility HERE.
 
View looking NE at the SW corner of the Aquatics Center

Monday, July 29, 2013

Bubbler Arrives


The new bubbler system (also called sparging system), designed by Pulsair Systems has recently been installed below the 3m and one of the 1m diving boards in the new Aquatics Center.

 But what exactly is a bubbler system? It’s a way to reduce the surface tension of the water to provide a softer landing for the diver’s during training. The system injects compressed air from a tank (below) into long diffusers (left) at the bottom of the pool.  Air bubbles rise and aerate the water surface to create a soft cushion of air and water for the diver. 
The system allows divers to try new and more complex dives without a fear of landing incorrectly. Coaches can use a remote control to adjust the system as they move around the pool.
Thanks to Pulsair Systems for the photos

Monday, July 22, 2013

In the Home Stretch

Well, we are less than a month away and there is a lot going on at the Niles North Aquatics Center.  The exterior metal panel installation is close to completion and site work is well underway to provide a new sidewalk and access road along the south end of the addition.
 
View of the Southeast corner of the Aquatics Center


View of the Southwest corner of the Aquatics Center
 
 There is even more activity taking place on the interior as finish materials (textured wall panels, ceramic tile, glass guardrails, etc) continue to be installed and the existing pool has even begun to be filled.  The new pool should be filled by the end of the month and then the focus will turn to the testing and balancing of the mechanical units and pool filtration equipment.


View of Entry Corridor Concessions and Display Case


View looking East at New Pool - Glass Guardrail, Bleachers and Starting Blocks are now in place


View of 1m and 3m Diving Platforms
View of Existing Pool - Pool should be completely filled today or tomorrow


Monday, June 24, 2013

Happy Summer!


While most people are excited to get outside and hit the pools for summer, we are excited because our pools are finally enclosed.  The installation of the metal panel at the overhangs continues, but the rest of the exterior construction has been completed on the new Aquatics Center.  This now allows the contractors to finish off the interior finishes, with a main focus on the tile installation.  Less than 2 months left to go...


View of Southwest corner of Aquatics Center
View of the South Elevation of the Aquatics Center
View looking East at the Existing Pool Tile installation

View looking West inside the new Competition Pool

View looking East inside the new Competition Pool



Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Bulkhead Has Arrived

Image of the Bulkhead which is just over 60' long and was delivered in a single piece!
 
The month of May has brought some exciting changes to the Aquatics Center.  Tile installation, painting, exterior glass installation, pool concrete and the delivery of the Bulkhead which will be used to separate the swimming section from the diving.  This piece of equipment will provide flexibility for the new pool to allow a 25y swim course, 25m swim course or water polo, all while maintaining a separate diving well.

View inside looking East - The Bulkhead is iinstalled and is currently resting along the east end of the pool
 


View inside looking East in Existing Pool - Deck Tile and Painting are almost complete

View inside looking West - 1m and 3m Diving Platforms have been completed and the interior masonry is almost complete

 
View looking East - Translucent glass installation is almost complete, which will provide natural ligth without the glare

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Interior starting to take shape

View inside Entry Corridor - Concessions and Display Case
 
 
View looking West from Public Corridor
With the exterior of the Aquatic Center in good shape, the focus has shifted to the interior.  The concrete slab for the new pool has been completed and the walls have been poured for the diving well.  Light fixtures are installed, painting is ongoing and tiling of the public toilet rooms has begun.  Prep work for the existing pool deck tile replacement has completed and soon the new tile will start to be installed to give the existing pool a fresh look.  Legat Architects also continues to provide construction tours for the Niles North Architecture/Engineering class on a bi-weekly basis.  The class has been exposed to various stages of the construction process and the next milestone that the class will have an opportunity to observe is the concrete pour for the new pool deck. 

View looking South from Existing Pool to New Pool


View looking at New Pool Slab from Balcony
 


View looking West from the Balcony

Sunday, March 17, 2013

We have a Diving Well

View Looking West from Lawler
View of Southeast Corner
On the exterior, the roofing systems are almost complete and the glass around the facility continues to be installed.  On the interior, the steel has been painted, lights have been installed and many of the support spaces are starting to take shape.  However, the most exciting milestone is that excavation is underway and we now have a diving well!  The facility will feature both 3m and 1m diving, as well as a Sparging system and rigging system to assist in the training of the divers.

View inside Entry Corridor - Concessions and Display Case

View looking West from Balcony Seating
View of Pool Excavation - Diving Well is to the right
View looking East from Balcony Seating

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Let's Start Digging!

The exterior enclosure of the new Aquatics Center is progressing well and the painting of the curved steel bar joists is nearing completion.  This is all leading up to the start of excavation for the brand new 8 lane competition pool and diving well.
View looking East from the Concessions
View looking North at West Stairwell
 

View looking East along future South sidewalk
View looking North at East Stairwell
View looking South at Clerestory which is located above the Spectator Seating
 
View looking West at the interior of the Aquatics Center
 
View looking West from Lawler

Friday, February 15, 2013

District 219 Video

Robert Henderson from Niles North High School has put together a nice video piece highlighting the Design/Construction of the Aquatics Center.  The video includes interviews with Michael Maloney from Legat Architects, Dave Dini from IHC Construction and Seth Orlove, Aquatics Director/Coach Please check it out.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


After several years of planning, designing and construction...there is just over 8 more months of construction remaining before the students of Niles North and the surrounding communities are able to use their new Aquatics Center. 
View from Concourse which connects the Existing Pool with the New Pool

View from future Spectator Seating looking West towards future Diving


View from the Concession Stand looking East