The University of Chicago recently opened an upgraded modern residence hall on its campus. In fact, renowned Chicago architect Jeanne Gang and her studio were responsible for redesigning the building, both its interior and exterior. The building was designed to house students and faculty, and includes eight separate home-like buildings.

Each of the eight buildings were connected to a public green space. These green spaces include green roofs and amenity decks. The new design was a vast upgrade from what traditional student housing looks like.

The exterior greenspace irrigation was designed and installed by J.M. Irrigation. The strict LEED guidelines set forth by the design team required J.M. Irrigation to use a dripline for plants, with turf and additional open green areas being irrigated with more traditional systems. With the use of driplines and other innovative tools, the irrigation system was set to achieve savings of some 50% that of traditional irrigation systems.

As sustainable and native plants began to grow, the use of the irrigation system became limited and in frequent. However, J.M. Irrigation did not hold back from continuing its implementation of a high quality and efficient system.

For example, the dripline was chosen to match the plant types being installed, while also maximizing pressure compensation emitters from Hunter Industries. The system’s spray heads and rotors were specifically chosen to withstand changes in the collegiate environment.

The University also required a centralized control system. J.M. Irrigation answered that call by providing a Hunter ACC controller. This simple tool allows the University to control their some 65 plus irrigation systems easily. As a result, ground staff are better able to meet the challenges of the University’s large landscape. Additionally, the system will alert grounds staff of any leaks or broken heads weeks before the average staff would notice any difference.

To date, J.M. Irrigation has completed over 10 projects for the University of Chicago including new building landscapes and revamped quads. They have used exceptional design and implementation to achieve the goals the University has set forth.