Oak Park Village Hall
Preserving the Spirit of Open Government within a historic Modern-style Village Hall building.
JLK is working with the Village of Oak Park to rehabilitate and improve its historic Village Hall and Municipal Campus. The building, built in 1976 and designed by Harry Weese, currently houses Village staff and the Village Police Department.
First, JLK completed a building assessment and feasibility study. The study evaluated the feasibility of renovating the Village Hallbuilding to meet the needs of modern Village governance while preserving its historic integrity and the spirit of Open Government. To achieve this, qualified Preservation Architects and Architectural Historians from JLK reviewed historic documentation and previous studies to understand the existing conditions of the building and the needs of the Village. JLK also worked closely with the Facility Review Committee (FRC) and Village staff to identify goals and priorities for the Village Hall.
JLK catalogued character-defining features and developed a Building Preservation Plan to guide this effort as well as any future renovation or rehabilitation projects at Village Hall. The plan assigned treatment zones to all exterior and interior areas of the building and site. JLK reviewed previous space needs assessments and programming studies to understand how the existing building could meet current and future needs. Three conceptual design schemes were developed and reveiwed closely with the FRC. A recommended scheme was selected and presented to the Village Board for consideration. All aspects of the study and process were publicly accessible. The study recommended that the continued use of the historic Village Hall was possible and that the relocation of the Police Department to a new, separate facility was necessary.
JLK is leading schematic design for the Oak Park Municipal Campus with a team of architects, engineers, planners, and landscape architects. The work includes discipline coordination, public engagement, and stakeholder involvement to design a new Police Department facility on-site and rehabilitate the existing Village Hall building, including site improvements, a new addition, and accessibility and sustainability upgrades.
Designed by Chicago Architect Harry Weese and completed in 1975, the Oak Park Village Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The building is significant for its design and location which is assocaited with the village’s efforts to achieve racial integration and community stabiliation. The philosophy of “open and transparent government” is woven into the architectural design of Village Hall, including its overall form, materiality, and spatial configuration. At the heart of the building and site is an open, public plaza surrounded by a glass storefront that places government operations on full display. The jewel of the building is the floating Council Chambers which is accessed via a long exterior ramp and an interior walkway tube.
JLK is working with the Village of Oak Park to rehabilitate and improve its historic Village Hall and Municipal Campus. The building, built in 1976 and designed by Harry Weese, currently houses Village staff and the Village Police Department.
First, JLK completed a building assessment and feasibility study. The study evaluated the feasibility of renovating the Village Hallbuilding to meet the needs of modern Village governance while preserving its historic integrity and the spirit of Open Government. To achieve this, qualified Preservation Architects and Architectural Historians from JLK reviewed historic documentation and previous studies to understand the existing conditions of the building and the needs of the Village. JLK also worked closely with the Facility Review Committee (FRC) and Village staff to identify goals and priorities for the Village Hall.
JLK catalogued character-defining features and developed a Building Preservation Plan to guide this effort as well as any future renovation or rehabilitation projects at Village Hall. The plan assigned treatment zones to all exterior and interior areas of the building and site. JLK reviewed previous space needs assessments and programming studies to understand how the existing building could meet current and future needs. Three conceptual design schemes were developed and reveiwed closely with the FRC. A recommended scheme was selected and presented to the Village Board for consideration. All aspects of the study and process were publicly accessible. The study recommended that the continued use of the historic Village Hall was possible and that the relocation of the Police Department to a new, separate facility was necessary.
JLK is leading schematic design for the Oak Park Municipal Campus with a team of architects, engineers, planners, and landscape architects. The work includes discipline coordination, public engagement, and stakeholder involvement to design a new Police Department facility on-site and rehabilitate the existing Village Hall building, including site improvements, a new addition, and accessibility and sustainability upgrades.
Designed by Chicago Architect Harry Weese and completed in 1975, the Oak Park Village Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The building is significant for its design and location which is assocaited with the village’s efforts to achieve racial integration and community stabiliation. The philosophy of “open and transparent government” is woven into the architectural design of Village Hall, including its overall form, materiality, and spatial configuration. At the heart of the building and site is an open, public plaza surrounded by a glass storefront that places government operations on full display. The jewel of the building is the floating Council Chambers which is accessed via a long exterior ramp and an interior walkway tube.
Preservation planning and community engagement guide treatment of this historic public asset.
