St. Alexius Medical Center Medical Mall [Hoffman Estates, IL]
Project category: New construction & Remodel/Renovation (completed March 2007)
Chief administrator: Ed Goldberg, CEO, (847) 843-2000
Firm: Proteus Group, (312) 337-7800
Design team: Tim Gregg, AIA, ACHA, Principal-in-Charge; Doug Finck, AIA, Project Manager; Gary Hodonicky, RA, Project Designer; Jeff Meyer, Architect; Kerri Snook, Interior Designer; LaSundra Brown, Electrical Engineer
Photography: ©2007 Dimitre Photography
Total building area (sq. ft.): 49,687 (new); 14,490 (renovation)
Construction cost/sq. ft.: $257 (new); $162 (renovation)
Total construction cost (excluding land): $12,753,061 (new); $2,344,410 (renovation)
The new Outpatient Pavilion, part of the St. Alexius Medical Center Medical Mall project, creates a new campus front door that links the recently completed Medical Office Building and the existing hospital. The new building entry serves a double function; it also is the gateway to newly conceived patient services. The structure houses outpatient registration, outpatient testing, Cardiac Catheterization Labs and cardiac programs, a comprehensive Cancer Center, patient education resource center, visitor waiting, and support services.
Patients and visitors arrive at a porte cochere entrance, which completes the new entry court and is the keystone of the campus master plan. The exterior materials include architectural metals, curtainwall, and stone to reflect a new and contemporary approach to patient services.
One of the main functions of the new outpatient lobby is to receive, register, and guide patients in a friendly and professional manner. The patient arrives at a stand-up registration counter for a quick check-in process. Private, sit-down registration accommodations for patient intake are available for patients who are not preregistered. Etched glass within the lobby, registration, and resource spaces provides privacy within the registration area while still being decorative. The glass also allows natural light to penetrate deep into the space.
Combinations of diagnostic and therapy services are offered on a single floor, allowing the hospital to provide state-of-the-art care in an appealing environment. Features such as valet parking, a large assortment of coffee beverages, and a high-amenity setting make the care experience ideal for patients and visitors. The lobby and subwaiting areas offer a relaxed setting for family and visitors.
Throughout the space, natural light, warm neutral tones accented by the wood millwork, and patterned terrazzo and carpet flooring add a layer of human scale to the space and provide small respites that make the space more intimate. The focal point of the lobby is a restored stained-glass panel scene that measures 12′ wide × 9′ high and is set into a freestanding wood cabinet, which provides backlighting for the glass and defines the waiting-area space. This cabinet sits below a vaulted ceiling, which is indirectly lit and finished with integrally colored plaster to match the tones of the stained glass.
A stone fireplace is a central feature of the space and can be viewed from both the lobby entrance and the resource center. The fireplace surround and hearth are clad in a combination of smooth-face, travertine vette stone and rough-hewn vette stone.
A newly designed Breast Center at St. Alexius is part of a larger comprehensive cancer program. Patients are treated in a spa-like atmosphere featuring earth-tone color palettes reflecting patterns found in nature, and solid wood-grain millwork. Frosted glass in the doors creates a luxurious private atmosphere that simultaneously avoids appearing overly opulent.
The comprehensive cancer program offered at St. Alexius Medical Center includes Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Radiation Therapy, a Women’s Imaging Center, and a Women’s Diagnostic treatment center. The Women’s Imaging Center contains a complete and centralized range of treatment services. A digital mammography unit, CR mammography units, ultrasound room, bone-density scanning, and a stereotactic biopsy procedure room complete the center. In addition, the department includes other complementary and alternative treatment programs such as Reiki Therapy.
The design team, in partnership with the client, made concerted efforts to demystify the high-tech areas of the facility, placing state-of-the-art imaging and treatment equipment into a comfortable setting in an effort to relax the patient. Original artwork and framed poster art is abundant throughout the space, including special backlit art scenes in the Linear Accelerator ceiling and walls.