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
| Jan 28, 2014
White Paper: How metal buildings deliver long-term value to schools
A new white paper from Star Building Systems outlines the benefits of metal buildings for public and private school building projects.
| Jan 28, 2014
First Look: BIG's Honeycomb building for Bahamas resort [slideshow]
BIG + HKS + MDA have unveiled the design for the new Honeycomb building and adjacent plaza in The Bahamas – a 175,000-sf residential facility with a private pool on each balcony.
| Jan 28, 2014
2014 predictions for skyscraper construction: More twisting towers, mega-tall projects, and 'superslim' designs
Experts from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat release their 2014 construction forecast for the worldwide high-rise industry.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
| Jan 28, 2014
Big Ten Conference opens swanky HQ and museum [slideshow]
The new mixed-use headquarters includes a museum, broadcast studios, conference facilities, office spaces, and, oh yeah, a Brazilian steakhouse.
| Jan 27, 2014
A climber's dream: Rock climbing hall planned near Iran's highest peak
Forget the rock climbing wall. A developer in Iran is building a rock climbing hall. That's right, an entire building dedicated to the sport, with more than 48,000 sf of program space.
| Jan 24, 2014
First look: Foster + Partners' new home for Yale School of Management [slideshow]
Edward P. Evans Hall, the new home of the Yale School of Management, has opened for business. The 242,000-sf facility was designed by Foster + Partners, with Gruzen Samton as architect of record.
| Jan 24, 2014
Reed Expansion Index predicts widespread economic improvement for the year
Reed's December Expansion Index stood at 1.48, indicating overall construction in the United States is expected to grow over the next 12 months.
| Jan 24, 2014
Urban Land Institute, Enterprise outline issues in rental housing shortage: Report
Bending the Cost Curve: Solutions to Expand the Supply of Affordable Rentals outlines factors that impede the development of affordable rental housing – causing the supply in many markets to fall far short of the demand.
| Jan 24, 2014
ZGF announces formal partnership with Vancouver's Cotter Architects
ZGF has announced the formal establishment of a Vancouver, British Columbia, presence in partnership with Cotter Architects.