Countryside City Hall and Police Headquarters

A Net Zero Energy First for Civic Architecture in the State of Illinois

The Countryside Municipal Complex is designed to become an innovative, new icon along “The Mother Road” – Route 66, with its rooftop photovoltaic arrays, green roof, and geothermal heat pumps.

The new council chambers interiors feature stone pier accents, a raised wood dais, coffered ceilings, and prairie-inspired stained glass entry doors.

The new municipal complex design features a welcoming civic entry plaza with lush, native landscaping, raised planters, and seating areas for visitors in front of a stone-clad entry portal.

The new municipal complex design includes a secured, outdoor staff break terrace on the second level featuring a green roof and seating areas.

The single public entry in this combined facility features a dramatic, light-filled two-story lobby with prairie-style inspired pendant light fixtures, wood paneled signage and display walls, and seating areas with views out to the civic lawn.

The project incorporates architectural design features using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles such as window planter boxes to improve the safety of the facility. LED lighting provides additional safety benefits.

Owner: City of Countryside, IL
Location: Countryside, IL
Services: Architecture, Engineering, Planning, Consulting, and Advisory
Markets: Community Facilities

Certification: LEED® Gold
Square Footage: 34,900 SF
Cost: $21.8 million
Region: Midwest

A new local government building in Countryside, Illinois, is leading the way as an example of sustainable design and civic architecture. Instead of merely expanding on its previously undersized facility, our team designed a new city hall and police station with net zero ambitions which had never been achieved by a municipal building in the state of Illinois. Upon completion, the project was awarded LEED^® Gold certification.

Net zero energy design was achieved via integrated design and close collaboration amongst our architects, engineers, and consultants. A precise building envelope design along with exceptionally efficient mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems
form the basis for the low energy strategy in Climate Zone 5. Photovoltaic arrays at the building’s roof and over the police vehicle car port areas will provide onsite renewable energy to balance power usage.

In addition to supporting the sustainable features of the project, we helped realize one of the project’s goals to increase staff efficiency while maintaining a secure perimeter between public and private city functions. The new L-shaped building
is divided into police department functions on the north and city hall functions on the south with a shared public amenities core. A centrally located two-story lobby welcomes the public and serves as an access point for both the police and city hall
functions.

We provided an array of services, including architecture, MEP and fire protection engineering, structural engineering, interior design, sustainability, IT/AV security, energy modeling, photovoltaic array design, grant research, and educational exhibit
design for LEED^® and net zero energy certification.