The butterfly-shaped facility that is the new Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) sits quietly on the Near West Side of Chicago awaiting the official opening of its doors this month. The RUMC facility and its staff are preparing to handle any type of pandemic or chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) disaster that might hit Chicago.
At a cost of $654 million, the 14-story, 830,000-sf medical center, designed by a Perkins+Will team led by design principal Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP, is distinguished in its ability to handle disasters.
If such an event were to hit the Chicago area, the emergency response center could offer an unprecedented level of readiness for a mass outbreak of infectious disease, bioterrorist attack, or hazmat incident.
“This is the nation’s first facility designed to provide care for patients involved in chemical, biological, and radiological disasters,” says Dr. Dino Rumoro, RUMC’s chairman of emergency medicine. “We have to be ready for any type of disaster that can hit the city of Chicago.”
The 40,000-sf emergency room includes:
- 60 individual treatment bays that can accommodate up to two patients per bay, doubling the normal patient load
- The ability to control airflow to seal off contagions in parts of the hospital
- Ambulance bays that can be converted into decontamination centers, so that CBR victims could be sprayed down in large groups
Special equipment and a flexible infrastructure allow RUMC to accommodate surge capacity to treat mass casualties beyond the ER. Pillars in the main lobby are equipped with hidden panels that provide access to oxygen and other clinical gases, allowing RUMC to accommodate even more beds in a disaster scenario.
The floors above the emergency room are devoted to the interventional platform, where diagnostic testing, surgical, and interventional services and recovery are located within a short distance of each other. This results in enhanced collaboration between medical specialists, patients, and families. A total of 42 procedure rooms with enlarged operating rooms provide the latest surgical technology.
The new hospital adds 304 individual adult and critical beds on its top five floors, increasing the total number of beds across existing and new facilities to 664, making RUMC one of the largest hospitals in the area.
The hospital is awaiting LEED Gold certification. In addition to using recycled construction materials and considerable water- and energy-saving measures, the hospital has three green roofs—one atop the main tower, another on the ninth floor open to staff, and a third atop the entry pavilion. BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 29, 2022
Montana becomes first U.S. state to approve 3D printing in construction
Montana is the first U.S. state to give broad regulatory approval for 3D printing in building construction.
Giants 400 | Aug 29, 2022
Top 175 Multifamily Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Perkins Eastman, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, KTGY, and Gensler top the ranking of the nation's largest multifamily sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes all multifamily sector work, including apartments, condos, student housing, and senior living facilities.
| Aug 26, 2022
Idaho Building Code Board considers gutting large part of state energy code
Idaho Building Code Board considers gutting large part of state energy code.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 25, 2022
7 things to know about designing for Chinese multifamily developers
Seven tips for designing successful apartment and condominium projects for Chinese clients.
Giants 400 | Aug 25, 2022
Top 155 Apartment and Condominium Architecture Firms for 2022
Solomon Cordwell Buenz, KTGY, Gensler, and AO top the ranking of the nation's largest apartment and condominium architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
University Buildings | Aug 25, 2022
Higher education, striving for ‘normal’ again, puts student needs at the center of project planning
Sustainability and design flexibility are what higher education clients are seeking consistently, according to the dozen AEC Giants contacted for this article. “University campuses across North America are commissioning new construction projects designed to make existing buildings and energy systems more sustainable, and are building new flexible learning space that bridge the gap between remote and in-person learning,” say Patrick McCafferty, Arup’s Education Business Leader–Americas East region, and Matt Humphries, Education Business Leader in Canada region.
| Aug 25, 2022
New York City’s congestion pricing aims to reduce traffic, cut carbon
Officials recently released an environmental assessment that analyzes seven different possible pricing schemes for New York City’s congestion pricing program.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Aug 24, 2022
Solutions for cladding performance and supply issues
This course covers design considerations and cladding assembly choices for creating high-performance building envelopes — a crucial element in healthy, energy-efficient buildings.
| Aug 24, 2022
California’s investment in ‘community schools’ could transform K-12 education
California has allocated $4.1-billion to develop ‘community schools’ that have the potential to transform K-12 education.
| Aug 24, 2022
Architecture Billings Index slows but remains healthy
For the eighteenth consecutive month architecture firms reported increasing demand for design services in July, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
