In Duluth, Minn., the new St. Mary’s Medical Center, designed by EwingCole, is now the largest healthcare facility in the region. The hospital consolidates Essentia Health’s healthcare services under one roof.
At about 1 million sf spanning two city blocks, St. Mary’s overlooks Lake Superior, providing views on almost every floor of the world’s largest freshwater lake. All of the hospital’s inpatient rooms enjoy floor-to-ceiling views of the lake or the surrounding hillside. The dining commons and rooftop garden also offer views of Lake Superior.
While the exterior façade’s lower levels resemble the brownstone homes and businesses in downtown Duluth, the glass façade of the upper levels and patient tower evokes the neighboring lake. The building’s fritted glass also reduces solar heat gain inside.
The hospital’s interior aims to eschew traditional clinical design by embracing vibrant colors and nature to aid the healing process. Each floor’s interior design takes inspiration from a natural landscape in Duluth.
The design team constructed and tested a full-scale mockup of the building envelope to detect any air or moisture infiltration that could affect energy performance and indoor air quality. As a result, the team achieved a 24% reduction in energy consumption and a 26% reduction in energy costs.
As part of the project’s sustainability measures, almost 1 million sf of the building’s acoustic ceiling panels were manufactured about a half-hour away, reducing travel time and greenhouse gas emissions. EwingCole also selected a nearby single-source manufacturer of the custom glazing system, decreasing transportation emissions. And the team reduced the building’s embodied carbon by replacing Portland cement with cement substitutes.
The hospital’s narrow, aerodynamic form eliminates wind turbulence around the entrances and rest areas, minimizes its impact on views to and from the lake, and limits its impact on bird migration. In addition, the design team’s early wind modeling enabled it to refine the structural system so that it required less steel.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Essentia Health
Design architect: EwingCole
Architect of record: EwingCole and LHB
MEP and structural engineer: EwingCole
General contractor: McGough
Related Stories
| Jan 9, 2014
Harley Ellis Devereaux, BFHL Architects announce merger
Effective January 1, 2014, Ralph Lotito and Brett Paloutzian have merged BFHL, comprising 15 healthcare architects, with Harley Ellis Devereaux. A national architecture and engineering firm in practice since 1908, Harley Ellis Devereaux has offices in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, CA.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2014
9 mega redevelopments poised to transform the urban landscape
Slowed by the recession—and often by protracted negotiations—some big redevelopment plans are now moving ahead. Here’s a sampling of nine major mixed-use projects throughout the country.
| Dec 20, 2013
Top healthcare sector trends for 2014 (and beyond)
Despite the lack of clarity regarding many elements of healthcare reform, there are several core tenets that will likely continue to drive transition within the healthcare industry.
| Dec 17, 2013
IBM's five tech-driven innovation predictions for the next five years [infographics]
Smart classrooms, DNA-based medical care, and wired cities are among the technology-related innovations identified by IBM researchers for the company's 5 in 5 report.
| Dec 17, 2013
CBRE's Chris Bodnar and Lee Asher named Healthcare Real Estate Executives of the Year
CBRE Group, Inc. announced today that two of its senior executives, Chris Bodnar and Lee Asher, have been named Healthcare Real Estate Executives of the Year by Healthcare Real Estate Insights.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 10, 2013
Modular Pedia-Pod: Sustainability in healthcare construction [slideshow]
Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia was the site of a unique display—Pedia-Pod, a modular pediatric treatment room designed and built by NRB, in collaboration with the editors of Building Design+Construction, SGC Horizon LLC, and their team of medical design consultants.
| Dec 3, 2013
Creating a healthcare capital project plan: The truth behind the numbers
When setting up a capital project plan, it's one thing to have the data, but quite another to have the knowledge of the process.
| Nov 27, 2013
Pediatric hospitals improve care with flexible, age-sensitive design
Pediatric hospitals face many of the same concerns as their adult counterparts. Inpatient bed demand is declining, outpatient visits are soaring, and there is a higher level of focus on prevention and reduced readmissions.