Anna Langford Community Academy

Chicago, IL

As the owner’s representative for Chicago Public Schools, bKL led the planning and design management for Anna R. Langford Community Academy, a 79,000 SF, three-story facility in the West Englewood Community. Formerly known as Nicholas Copernicus Public School, the 1905 building has been recognized by Chicago Landmarks as Orange Listed. The historic nature of the building led to a conscious effort to preserve and restore the exterior to its original design, including the replacement of the 9,900 SF standing seam metal roof with a shingled roof to mimic the original slate design. Additional exterior upgrades included repairs and painting of the ornamental steel cornices, spandrel panels and window mullions; 20% masonry tuckpointing, and full cleaning of the brick. Interior renovations addressed abatement, patching and painting of plaster in the gymnasiums, corridors and third-floor classrooms.

This capital improvement project was planned simultaneously with two other sister schools from the era: Eli Whitney Elementary School and James Monroe Elementary School. Although scopes of work required for each building varied, the approaches to each of the three renovations were informed by the prototypical nature of the original designs.

Design
2018
Construction
2019
Project Area
79,000 square feet
Contractor
All-Bry Construction
Photography
Philip Shin
CPS Program Management Office
Jacobs Engineering, bKL Architecture, Cotter Consulting, Primera Engineering, Perry and Associates, Infrastructure Engineering, Inc., LCM Architects
CPS Architect of Record
Doyle & Associates