henry ford academy: power house high...shaw tlc, also called “power house high,” is located...

A New Architecture for a New Education Ball State University

CASE STUDY: ChiCAgo, iL

HENRY FORD ACADEMY: POWER HOUSE HIGH

Figure 1.16.1: Building Better Communities (BBC) fellows and faculty are walking up the entry of the Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center, named for short Power House High, from the Sears-Roebuck , and Company Tower. Notice the handicapped lift to the left of the steps.

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Introduction“The Farr Associates architectural team worked with the Homan Arthington Foundation and the Illinois Facilities Fund to transform the 90,000 square feet, Sears Roebuck Power House into a LEED Platinum certified Charter High School, with educational support from the Henry Ford Learning Institute. Farr preserved select archi-tectural and mechanical elements as didactic tools to let the students understand the century old method of construction and power creation while providing contrast to 21st century sustain-able innovations.” (www.farrside.com)

OverviewStudy Completed: Spring 2011Type: Public Charter High SchoolLocation: 931 South Homan Avenue Chicago, IL 60624Grades: 9th-12thStudents: 260 Students (2009-2010)Year Organized: 2009Square Footage: 90,000 Square Feet

Learning Snapshot: Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center (TLC) is part of a major revitalization effort to bring life and importance back to a community that was once home to the massive Sears, Roebuck and Company world

headquarters in the Lawndale Community on Chicago’s West Side. HistoryShaw TLC, also called “Power House High,” is located today in the repurposed power house building of Sears, Roebuck and Company.

“Largely hidden from sight nestled behind the massive Sears Administration Building, the Power House has remained an undiscovered classroom on the advancement of energy generation and distribution technology. Despite its incredible beauty and unique characteristics, the Power House has been a missing piece of Chicago history.”

The Power House was built in 1905 to provide electricity and heat for the Sears, Roebuck and Company complex. The entire complex was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Nimmons & Fellows. George C. Nimmons was a significant architect of large-scale industrial and commercial buildings, including the Reid, Murdoch and Company Building, another Chicago Landmark.

The Power House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as a significant building in the Sears, Roebuck and

Figure 1.16.3: After being demolished, all that remain of the main catalogue factory is the iconic tower, now a landmark for the community.

Figure 1.16.2: The original Sears-Roebuck Tower provided vertical circulation for the 9 story catalogue store.


Charter School Patterns of Innovation A Building Better Communities Project


Company Complex. The four-building complex, the Tower, Catalogue Store, Power House, and Administration Building were also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Further, the Power House is adjacent to the complex’s Administration Building which was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002.

The final piece of the twenty year-long master plan for Homan Square fell into place with the Power House returning to service as a school. It once powered the entire Sears, Roebuck and Company world headquarters; it now has “the potential to power the dreams and aspirations of North Lawndale’s children.”

A group of community residents, Chicago civic leaders, and ambitious educators helped transform the Homan Square Power House into the Shaw Technology and Learning Center, or Power House High. Power House High is modeled on the highly successful Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Michigan which advocates that “education is a public endeavor.”

This is an innovative partnership for an historic space, already part of an award-winning community development. Homan Square has

Figure 1.16.4: The engine room has been converted into the Cafeteria and the location of the annual Lottery that takes place for incoming Freshman Students. Original machinery provides a unique focus to space.

Figure 1.16.5: The skylight above the engine room is now covered in translucent glass instead of the original single pane glass.

contributed to the rebirth of North Lawndale community through the development of a community center, recreational facility, child care environment, and a variety of housing types. The Shaw TLC “Power House High” gives neighborhood students the tools to drive their own futures and the future of their own community.”(www.hfli.org)

VisionThe vision of Power House High parallels the Henry Ford Learning Institute’s (HFLI) view of education for the 21st century:

“One day public education will be a truly public endeavor: visibly engaging all aspects of a community to create new educational models, leverage untapped resources, and remove boundaries between school and the real world.”

MissionThe Power House High is modeled after the Henry Ford Learning Institute (HFLI) Academy Teaching model:

• The HFLI mission is to create “small schools and hands-on learning programs that leverage a wide range of local resources to create thriving communities where education is everyone’s responsibility.” (www.hfli.org)

EnrollmentThere were 260 students (2009-2010) who attended Power House High, grades 9-12, in their first year as a charter high school. The enrollment selection process is through a public lottery which begins with the students completion of an application. After all of the applications are collected, the potential students assemble inside the main hall of the school for a public lottery. If the student’s name/number is called then they become a student of Power House High the following fall.

DemographicsThe gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic distribution of enrolled students during the first year of Power House High (2009-2010) is as follows:

• 59% Female 41% Male• 99.2% Black 0.8% Hispanic

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• 90 % Low Income (District avg. 87%)

Additional factors:• Chronic Truancy Rate 41.6% (District avg.

11.2%, State avg. 3.6%)• Attendance Rate 88.1% (District avg. 91.5,

State avg. 93.9%)• Dropout Rate 3.1% (District avg. 12.8%,

State avg. 3.8%)• Parental Involvement 78.8% (District avg.

91.5%, State avg. 93.9%)• Avg. Class Size 24 (District avg. 25.1, State

avg. 19.1)

Curriculum

Henry Ford Academy’s 5 Developmental Areas support the curriculum of Power House High. The 5 developmental areas are as follows: Academic ContentThe curriculum provides rigorous, college-preparatory content to all students in core disciplines of math, science, language arts, and social studies, as well as in the areas of art, drama, foreign language, and the Senior Mastery Process, a work-based learning program.

The three part Senior Master Program begins in the students’ junior year and involves career exploration, fieldwork, creation of a final assessment and reflection paper, and a public defense of research findings.

TechnologyStudents use technology as a tool to learn, work, and accomplish tasks, not only through the use of hardware and software but, more importantly, they learn how to make decisions about the appropriate technology to use for the task at hand.

CommunicationOral and written communication skills are reinforced through the Academy’s performance-based learning approach, which involves students demonstrating mastery through a variety of means: presentations, group projects, discussion, written materials, and tests. Teamwork teaches students the flexibility and tolerance that comes from working with a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.

Thinking and LearningThe Academy focuses on helping students develop critical thinking, problem solving, and lifelong learning skills, as well as the ability to apply what is learned in the classroom to the real world. Academy students develop an understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses in learning through extensive opportunities for personal reflection, enabling them to transfer what they have gained to new situations and challenges.

Personal ManagementTaking responsibility for one’s actions, managing

one’s time wisely, and presenting oneself in a professional manner (including being in dress code and wearing badges) are all expected and required of every student. This area is particularly important as the Academy as a “public endeavor,” is literally located in the public eye.

Community EnrichmentThe development of Homan Square has significantly helped to revitalize the Lawndale Community. Before this investment by community leaders the Lawndale community was a poverty stricken, blight infested, crime ridden area in the western Chicago community. The implementation the North Lawndale YMCA and the Community and Health Center along with the new affordable housing revitalized the entire neighborhood. The Sears Roebuck Administration Building and the Power House have provided ample room for businesses, services, and institutions to operate within. All of this has proven to be the beginnings of a sustainable community without the gentrification that often happens in similar communities.

Power House High students benefit greatly from this community development. Powerful opportunities exist for the school when embedded into its public places. As the place of the “Great Store” vision which catapulted

Figure 1.16.7: Looking towards Power House High with its iconic smokestack from the community center you can see the fabric of Homan Square. Homan Square has enriched the community through the adaptive reuse of the Power House High and the development of a Community Center with a health and recreation center and YMCA daycare center.

Figure 1.16.6: Each classroom at Power House High has historical elements such as the white painted coal chute at the ceiling, recalling the working nature of this Power Plant.

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Sears-Roebuck and Company from a mail-order catalogue firm to the nation’s largest retail chain, to the social and political upheaval of the 1960’s racial tensions and riots, the Lawndale Community High School on Chicago’s West End is a rich context for a first-hand understanding of the people, lifestyles and values of the time.

Classroom EnvironmentThe classrooms at Power House High were designed with the intention of focusing the student’s attention on the main teaching wall and fostering a group learning environment. The teaching wall is angled and colored differently from the rest of the classroom walls, drawing the student’s attention toward the surfaces. The teaching wall is also removable allowing the teachers to team teach different topics. Historical features are left in the classrooms giving each student a glimpse of what the building was before. For example,

the coal chutes are painted but not covered up and remind students of the power production process of the building.

Teacher Response“We have a wonderful facility. It is conducive to learning and students are happy to be in the building.” - Danielle A. Achenkour Esq.

Facility

Size: 90,000 Square Feet Architects: Farr Associates Year Completed: 2009Building Cost: $40,000,000 with $17,000,000 in Federal Tax CreditsSpatial SystemsThe building is split into two sections. The first section consists of the large rectangular common area, 45 feet tall, used for school

Figure 1.16.8: The investment by community leader Charles H. Shaw has changed the way Homan Square will be inhabited for generations to come. The added housing, schools, community center and daycare enrich the lives of the Lawndale Community . Power House High is located in blue.

Figure 1.16.9: First floor plan of Power House High showing an open, multi-story cafeteria (old engine room) in yellow with classroom areas stacked vertically in green.

Figure 1.16.10: North South Section of Power House High showing classrooms in blue/green and open circulation in yellow.

Figure 1.16.11: Second floor hallway in front of classroom/coal hoppers shows exposed building services of structure, lighting, and air distribution, inspiring curiosity in students.

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functions, dining, and assembly. The second section consists of four floors of classrooms arranged along a single corridor with a stairway and elevator in the middle of the corridor. The lowest level of the building is used for faculty and maintenance operations, and the upper levels are used for classrooms. Because there is only one large stairway for the building, a security egress has been constructed on the railroad facing side of the building with exits leading out of all of the classrooms.

Circulation/Movement SystemOne elevator and stairway in the center corridor of the classroom/lab section serves the entire building. An elevator was incorporated into the Great Hall during renovation. As mentioned above, a secondary means of egress was installed on the railroad side of the building with exits leading from the classrooms and labs to grade level. A small platform type lift was also installed for handicap accessibility at the main entrance to Power House High.

Site Response The Homan Square redevelopment is a 55 acre property in North Lawndale, Illinois. The property contains a five story Sears-Roebuck, and Company Administration Building, Laboratory Building, the first Sears Roebuck Tower, a 1,000 car garage, a rooftop garden, and the historic Power House that is now the school. These site amenities have been combined with affordable housing and a Community Center to create a stable neighborhood.

Safety and SecurityThe safety and security system at Power House High is extremely visible and well defined. Upon entering the building, guests have to be buzzed in by the receptionist. Large windows from the office areas allow staff to look out onto the common areas. A catwalk hangs high along the south wall of the common area with doors leading into the main hallway providing optimal oversight. While visiting, there were security personnel monitoring students from the catwalk upstairs. This, coupled with the fact that security is present throughout the building, creates a secure environment for students and the industrial theme of the school enhances this feeling.

Building SystemsThe facility has received a prestigious LEED® Platinum certification. The building employs the following sustainable technologies for cost savings and learning opportunities: Figure 1.16.12: The generator room of the power house originally housed the machinery vital to the factory.

Now as an assembly/multi-purpose room for the school, the machinery is gone except for a few pieces meant to foster learning and establish a culture n the new school environment.

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• Geothermal heating and cooling• Energy recovery ventilators• High-efficiency lighting• Storm water management.

Additionally, the structure is all exposed, fire proofed, and painted white to allow an understanding of its construction. All mechanical, electrical, and data systems are also revealed recalling the heritage of the building and providing ample learning lessons.

Energy and Sustainable Issues Farr Associates “recycled” the Sears-Roebuck Power House effectively with sustainable principles firmly embedded in the design. The architects achieved the LEED Platinum certification by mixing new sustainable technologies with beautiful, historic elements. Farr Associates replaced the existing windows with more efficient double glazed windows, replaced the inefficient toilets with low-flow toilets, installed solar-powered sinks, energy-efficient skylights, planted a roof garden, and installed a geothermal heating and cooling system in-between the school and the railroad.

The architects renovated and restored many of the historical icons of the power house, while creating an interesting facility for the high school to operate within. Farr Associates have restored the original wooden windows and doors, maintained the integrity of the terra cotta floor tiles, refurbished the decorative metal railing in the turbine room, polished the original machinery showcased throughout the building, and restored the old chimney. Power House High is a “model for recycling historic building and for harnessing architecture’s aesthetic power to a broader social purpose.” (The Homan Arthington Foundation)

Lessons LearnedPower House High and the Homan Square redevelopment are great examples of the achievement that is possible when the public and private sector partner with local communities to preserve and capitalize on local history. The Homan Square development was originally the vision of Charles Shaw, a big name metropolitan developer. While he had the means and connections to make dreams a reality, he and his staff learned through time the importance of partnering with and empowering local people to dream about their community. Through establishing these partnerships, the Shaw Company and Homan Square have drawn together various resources (including the local

population) to provide a comprehensive service center in the North Lawndale community.

Sourceswww.hfli.org

www.farrside.com

www.homansquarepowerhouse.com

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2009/09/power-play-architects-help-turn-old-sears-power-plant-in-chicago-to-new-charter-school-.html

Historic Sears-Roebuck and Co. Catalogue Plant. John Oharenko with the Homan Arthington Fondation, Acadia Publishing. 2005

“Power House: Scenes from the Sears Power House.” The Homan Arthington Foundation, 2009.

Interview and Tours of Homan Square by Kristin Dean, President of Homan Square Power House.

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henry ford academy: power house high...shaw tlc, also called “power house high,” is located...

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