New Hospital Tower Rush University Medical Center

Designed by Perkins+Will, The New Hospital Tower Rush University Medical Center is part of a campus-wide transformation project, which also includes an orthopedic building, parking structure and new loading and delivery systems. The 800,000-square-foot hospital consists of 386 patient beds along with diagnostic and treatment facilities, such as surgery, radiology and emergency departments. The hospital is sited adjacent to the Eisenhower Expressway (a major arterial feeding the central area of Chicago) on the north, Ashland Avenue on the east and Harrison Street, the major internal street for the Rush Campus, on the south.

The organizational concept consists of a rectangular seven-story base, containing new diagnostic and treatment facilities, topped by a five-story curvilinear bed tower. The base connects to existing diagnostic treatment facilities to create a new continuous interventional platform. Part of the ground level of this base contains an emergency department, which has been designed to be an advanced emergency response center for the City of Chicago. The geometry of the bed tower maximizes views and natural light for patient rooms while also creating an environment for efficient and safe health care.

The massing and architectural expression of the north, south, and east respond to the different surrounding conditions. The north elevation is simple and large in scale, similar to the adjacent freeway. The east elevation works in tandem with the orthopedics building to create and reinforce the new entry boulevard from Ashland.

The south elevation weaves the rectilinear and curvilinear geometry of base and bed tower together to scale the building down to relate to the environment of the entry boulevard. The difference in north and south elevation also responds to the internal organizations of the base. The simpler north elevation expresses the back of house staff connection corridors. The more layered and scaled down south façade contains the public elements of the base, such as lounges and waiting areas.

Photography by © Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing

At the junction of a new and old hospital is a multi-story entry pavilion whose roof is landscaped to provide a patient staff garden at level four that connects by bridge to the existing parking structure and has upper-level patient check-in facilities. Skylights act as roof garden sculptural elements and provide natural light for the entry pavilion below. The walls of one of these skylights project down to the floor. Of the entry, pavilion to introduce an exterior landscaped space without compromising internal contamination issues associated with plantings.

Photography by © Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing

Project Info:
Architects: Perkins+Will
Location: Rush University Medical Center, 1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
Managing Principal: James Zajac – Market Sector Leader
Principal Designers: Ralph Johnson – Firm-Wide Design Principal; Jerry Johnson – Principal
Interior Designer: Perkins+Will
Area: 830000.0 ft2
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: James Steinkamp, Steinkamp Photography, Connor Steinkamp, Steinkamp Photography, Steve Hall | Hedrich Blessing
Manufacturers: Altro, Alucobond, American Hydrotech, Armstrong Ceilings, Ceilings Plus, Hanover, Herman Miller, Interface, LiveRoof, Mecho Systems, Roxul, Sherwin Williams, Viracon, Panolam, Lightolier, Kalzip, Leviton, 3M, Polyflor, Nucor Steel + 2
Project Name: New Hospital Tower Rush University Medical Center