MCDM AG.COM | NOV EMBER / DECEMBER 2015 | Medical Construction & Design
25
For too many years healthcare buildings
have been designed like massive
impenetrable fortresses in cities across
the country — disrupting the street
life and spirit of once vibrant places.
Northwestern Medicine's 259 East Erie,
located in the heart of Chicago, Illinois,
is not that kind of building.
Acting as a good neighbor and a catalyst for activity
in the city, the new 1-million-square-foot, 25-story
medical of ce building and ambulatory care center
of ers a great study on how a building can refl ect and
evolve a healthcare system's architectural aesthetic,
while staying contextually derivative of the urban
space and community that surrounds it.
The context
A traditional aesthetic: Northwestern Medicine has
a very distinct architectural language. Defi ned by an
academic Gothic style, the medical campus acts as a
cohesive network of buildings. However, the design of
the new outpatient care facility proved an opportunity
to help evolve the vernacular in a way that remains
respectful to the campus' more traditional architectural
portfolio, while also creating new connections with
the surrounding city context and responding to the
demands of a rapidly changing healthcare industry.
An architecturally rich city: A city like Chicago, rich
in architectural history and precedent, demands its
buildings actively participate in the city itself. Chicago
is a city of neighborhoods and, with this new high-
rise, came the opportunity to create a vibrant addition
to the Streeterville neighborhood by developing a
The refreshed academic Gothic fa ade of Northwestern Medicine's 259 East Erie was created using architectural precast concrete,
Indiana limestone, glass curtainwall and aluminum panels. > Northwestern's 259 East Erie supports a future where people do not
come to the outpatient care pavilion for healthcare services alone, they come to it as a community destination.
BY MICHAEL PUKSZTA | PHOTOS BY TOM ROSSITER