Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building, Chicago: 2024 Design Showcase Honorable Mention
Dan Schwalm ©2023 HDR
Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building: Designers used glass in an array of uses and functions on the project, including custom-designed art glass panels in the elevator lobbies.
Dan Schwalm ©2023 HDR
Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building: The coexisting cancer center and neurosciences center are designed to meet each program’s unique patient and provider needs. The same clinic module design is replicated for adaptability and flexibility, while still creating an experience that promotes excellence in patient outcomes.
Dan Schwalm ©2023 HDR
Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building: The exterior architecture combines a transparent curtain wall on the building’s city sides with a solid brick material with vertical trio windows to complement the homes in the neighborhood.
This article was originally published on December 3, 2024, and is among Healthcare Design’s project awards roundup of 2024. To see a full list, click here.
Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building, Chicago: 2024 Design Showcase Honorable Mention
On 11 acres in the nation’s largest urban medical district, Rush University Medical Center’s Joan & Paul Rubschlager Building in Chicago is a destination for cancer, neurosciences, and digestive diseases care.
The 487,600-square-foot ambulatory cancer care center, submitted to the Design Showcase by HDR (Chicago), comprises an 11-story tower, an enclosed six-level parking garage, and multipurpose conference center and retail spaces off the public concourse.
Opened in August 2023, the project team developed an overarching design concept coined “Duality” to address the competing interests on the site, including a bustling expressway to the North and a multifamily housing block on the South, as well as the need for seamless circulation within current campus functions.
For example, vehicular traffic is guided to the parking garage directly off the expressway while creating access for pedestrians arriving by various means of transit along an exterior concourse.
On the building façade, a transparent curtain wall adorns the city sides, while a solid brick material with vertical trio windows complements the residential style of the neighborhood. Inside, separate circulation routes for patients and staff serve as a natural barrier for safety and security.
Sustainability, resiliency, and infection control were also priorities of the project. The building is designed to LEED 4.0 Gold certification standards and employs redundant mechanical systems with ionizing filtration capability, negative pressure controls and airlocks, and an uninterruptable power supply to back up all critical technology systems.
For more coverage of Healthcare Design’s 2024 Design Showcase, go here.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design. She can be reached at [email protected].
