Located at Naval Station Great Lakes, Forrestal Elementary School serves a diverse student population from both military and non-military families. Its sustainable and inclusive design places the library and dining area at the school’s core. The library, open to the very heart of the school, provides an exciting and welcoming environment, encouraging students to embrace the joy of reading. The dining experience has been rethought to provide a setting that is more intimate, restorative, and non-institutional, enhancing both physical and mental well-being for all students. An outdoor town square acts as an arrival area, fostering a sense of community among students and their families from the moment they arrive.

Being on Navy property, Forrestal Elementary School has many unique qualities, including funding through the Public School on Military Installations (PSMI) program. This program provides 80 percent of the funding from the federal government, while the remaining 20 percent comes from the local school district, which also owns and operates the building. As part of the PSMI program, the school meets numerous complex requirements, including the Navy’s Antiterrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) standards, which involve a progressive collapse structural system and blast-resistant glazing. Additionally, the building materials conform to the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA).

Net-Zero Energy is a requirement of the PSMI program and a performance standard that Perkins Eastman strives to achieve in all our projects. As a result, Forrestal Elementary is on track to become one of the first net-zero schools in the Midwest. This goal is being achieved by incorporating strategies to minimize energy consumption and maximize sustainable energy production. Key building systems contributing to this include geothermal wells and solar panels mounted on the roof and over parking areas.