Illinois Air National Guard facility design

Project Summary

Hanson provided architectural and engineering design for the 183rd Fighter Wing‘s new 45,000-square-foot Composite Support Facility.

The Composite Support Facility includes a main dining hall; a medical squadron for immunizations, lab work and health record storage; and a readiness functional area, accommodating training on unit training assembly (UTA) weekends. The facility also features an auditorium, command and base offices, classrooms, physical fitness areas, dental facilities and a chapel. Additionally, the building has equipment storage, mechanical services and maintenance areas.

To meet Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) requirements, the building is designed to be resistant to progressive collapse. The building also has site setbacks for AT/FP as well as an emergency shutdown capability for the ventilation system.

The HVAC system consists of a chilled/hot-water system. An air-cooled chiller generates chilled water for circulation through two air-handling units. And four hot-water boilers provide hot water for heating.

Hanson also assisted with extending the 12,470-volt primary electrical system to the new building including underground ducts, primary cabling and a pad-mount transformer. Electrical design included power distribution, interior lighting, parking lot lighting, fire alarm and detection, data/communications, public address, overhead full-motion projection, auditorium surround sound, security and area-of-rescue assistance systems, and an overall building emergency standby power system.

Interior design services included detailing of the terrazzo flooring, custom murals in the dining hall, and design concepts in the physical fitness room. The team selected terrazzo flooring for the main lobby, first floor and part of the second floor because the design in the flooring adds interest and functions as a way-finding tool, providing visual cues to building users through the corridors. The dining hall features a half-barrel vault ceiling with exposed structure and mechanical systems. Translucent panels on both sides of the half barrel incorporate natural light in the space. Four custom murals, created by the owner, add a personal touch to the dining hall. The physical fitness room contains painted horizontal stripes around the room to add interest and rubber floors for resiliency, sound absorption and comfortable footing. Our staff also assisted with the base master plan, strategically locating vehicle-parking areas, roads and sidewalks, and integrated force protection.