Blackburn College, Olin Science Building

Carlinville, Illinois

The Olin Science building at Blackburn College needed significant updating. Virtually unchanged since its original construction in 1950, the building provides liberal arts students with the scientific background needed to further their training as future educators. The single level addition provided 34,000 square feet of new space for the physics, biology, and chemistry departments. 

All systems were designed with sufficient capacity to handle not only the new addition but also the future renovation of the existing building. The addition includes instructional labs with twenty-one fume hoods with energy recovery. Sustainable design features such as energy saving exhaust/makeup air systems, ground source heat pumps, and building systems commissioning were incorporated with the funding assistance of a “green design” grant. 

The building includes a geothermal heat pump system in a laboratory/teaching environment. The building was awarded an energy grant and is certified LEED Silver.