Project category: Addition (completed April 2005)

Chief administrator: Karen Lambert, CEO, (847) 381-0123

Firm: Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, (312) 565-4579

Design team: Mark A. Nichols, AIA, Project Manager; George B. Chapman, AIA, Project Designer (Loebl Schlossman & Hackl); Laurence V. Wilson, PE, Mechanical Engineer/Project Manager (Grumman/Butkus Associates); Roger S. Allen, Electrical Engineer/Project Manager (Dickerson Engineering); Robert C. Andren, SE, Structural Engineer/Project Manager (Pease Borst & Associates); Katrina Laflin, Landscape Designer (Wehler-Peterson & Associates)

Photography: ©2005 Bruce Van Inwegen

Total building area (sq. ft.): 56,500

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $367

Total construction cost (excluding land): $20,720,311


To expand its advanced cardiac services, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital commissioned the design of a new, 58,000-sq.-ft. addition. The three-level wing houses an open-heart operating room, a cardiac catheterization lab, an 18-bed universal patient care unit including intensive care patient rooms, and a 25-bed medical/surgical unit.

The design intent for the Wayne and Patricia Kocourek Family Cardiac Care Center was to blend the facility into its context, reinforcing the sense of place created by the existing campus. The brick of the addition matches that of the original buildings, as do the ribbon windows.

The design of the cardiac intensive care unit features a unique approach to patient care and operational efficiency through use of a universal-room system, not typically associated with cardiac care. This design allows patients to remain in the same room throughout their hospital stay while care specialists bring appropriate services to their bedside, thus eliminating patient transfers.

Beyond integrating highly sophisticated therapies and technologies, the design focused on creating an environment that integrates the power of the mind and spirit to accelerate the body’s healing process. The building’s main entrance is flanked by a spacious, bright waiting room with a two-story, floor-to-ceiling window wall overlooking a garden and surrounding fields. Day rooms—quiet public spaces with views of healing gardens and water features—are located in several places throughout the center.