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
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 27, 2023
Number of U.S. adaptive reuse projects jumps to 122,000 from 77,000
The number of adaptive reuse projects in the pipeline grew to a record 122,000 in 2023 from 77,000 registered last year, according to RentCafe’s annual Adaptive Reuse Report. Of the 122,000 apartments currently undergoing conversion, 45,000 are the result of office repurposing, representing 37% of the total, followed by hotels (23% of future projects).
Hotel Facilities | Jul 26, 2023
Hospitality building construction costs for 2023
Data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for 15-story hotels, restaurants, fast food restaurants, and movie theaters across 10 U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Sustainability | Jul 26, 2023
Carbon Neutrality at HKS, with Rand Ekman, Chief Sustainability Officer
Rand Ekman, Chief Sustainability Officer at HKS Inc., discusses the firm's decarbonization strategy and carbon footprint assessment.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 26, 2023
10 ways public aquatic centers and recreation centers benefit community health
A new report from HMC Architects explores the critical role aquatic centers and recreation centers play in society and how they can make a lasting, positive impact on the people they serve.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 25, 2023
San Francisco seeks proposals for adaptive reuse of underutilized downtown office buildings
The City of San Francisco released a Request For Interest to identify office building conversions that city officials could help expedite with zoning changes, regulatory measures, and financial incentives.
Designers | Jul 25, 2023
The latest 'five in focus' healthcare interior design trends
HMC Architects’ Five in Focus blog series explores the latest trends, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of healthcare design.
Urban Planning | Jul 24, 2023
New York’s new ‘czar of public space’ ramps up pedestrian and bike-friendly projects
Having made considerable strides to make streets more accessible to pedestrians and bikers in recent years, New York City is continuing to build on that momentum. Ya-Ting Liu, the city’s first public realm officer, is shepherding $375 million in funding earmarked for projects intended to make the city more environmentally friendly and boost quality of life.
Market Data | Jul 24, 2023
Leading economists call for 2% increase in building construction spending in 2024
Following a 19.7% surge in spending for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in 2023, leading construction industry economists expect spending growth to come back to earth in 2024, according to the July 2023 AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel.
Hotel Facilities | Jul 21, 2023
In Phoenix, a former motel transforms into a boutique hotel with a midcentury vibe
The Egyptian Motor Hotel’s 48 guest rooms come with midcentury furnishings ranging from egg chairs to Bluetooth speakers that look like Marshall amplifiers.
Office Buildings | Jul 20, 2023
The co-worker as the new office amenity
Incentivizing, rather than mandating the return to the office, is the key to bringing back happy employees that want to work from the office. Spaces that are designed and curated for human-centric experiences will attract employees back into the workplace, and in turn, make office buildings thrive once again. Perkins&Will’s Wyatt Frantom offers a macro to micro view of the office market and the impact of employees on the future of work.
