Vertegy of St. Louis recently announced that Hubble Middle School of Warrenville, Ill., had earned LEED for Schools Gold certification, making it Vertegy’s fifth LEED certified educational building and its first to be certified under LEED for Schools.

Hubble Middle School of Warrenville, Ill., earned LEED for Schools Gold certification. Legat Architects Inc. and construction manager Bovis Lend Lease designed and constructed the new 190,000-sq-ft facility.

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Hubble Middle School, located outside of Chicago, is only the third school in Illinois to achieve this level of LEED for Schools certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

After examining all options to meet Hubble Middle School’s expanding enrollment, the Wheaton Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 of Illinois asked Chicago, Ill.-based Legat Architects Inc. and construction manager Bovis Lend Lease to construct a new 190,000-sq-ft facility to serve more than 1,000 students in grades six through eight.

Instead of opting to replace the former 250,000-sq-ft building with an even bigger version, the new facility uses smarter square footage to meet the school’s needs.

Specific features of the building that helped the project garner the Gold certification include: an inclusive stormwater plan on 22 acres, including bio-swales and permeable paving; and divided building functions separating public and private spaces that contribute to energy efficiency and safe community usage during non-school hours.