After School Matters – Gately Park
Chicago, Illinois (Roseland/Pullman)
American School & University Educational Interiors Showcase – Special Citation (August 2022)
Chicago Park District’s first public indoor track and field complex in the City’s Pullman neighborhood, known as the Gately Indoor Track & Field, is a 139,000-square-foot development located at 744 E.103rd Street. After School Matters (ASM), in concert with Eckenhoff Saunders, created a 24,000-square-foot program space adjacent to the new fieldhouse.
Access to the athletic and recreational facilities provides ASM students with a unique opportunity for expanded wellness programming. The project was designed using input from ASM students, staff, and faculty obtained in a series of formal and informal programming and outreach sessions by Eckenhoff Saunders. These sessions assured proper responsiveness to student needs and program goals. In addition, this facility includes space for arts and technology programs, including dedicated areas for music, dance, and culinary arts. These areas and other flex studios surround a two-story daylit atrium with amphitheater seating and student-designed mosaics.
ASM has significant administrative staff on-site to serve the facility and act as a hub for ASM programs on the City’s south side. ASM Gately Park includes an outdoor rooftop area for programmed and unprogrammed student use to take advantage of the green park setting. The project has been designed to receive LEED certification.