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
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%206.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%2011.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%205.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%20100.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%204.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%209.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%203.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%2067.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%202.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region%207.jpeg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/In%20Duluth%2C%20Minn.%2C%20the%20new%C2%A0St.%20Mary%E2%80%99s%20Medical%20Center%2C%20designed%20by%20EwingCole%2C%C2%A0is%20now%20the%20largest%20healthcare%20facility%20in%20the%20region.jpeg)
Related Stories
| Nov 14, 2013
Behind the build: BD+C's 'Pedia-Pod' modular pediatric patient unit at Greenbuild 2013 [slideshow]
Next week at Greenbuild, BD+C will unveil its demonstration pediatric patient unit, called Pedia-Pod. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of this unique modular structure.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 8, 2013
Oversized healthcare: How did we get here and how do we right-size?
Healthcare facilities, especially our nation's hospitals, have steadily become larger over the past couple of decades. The growth has occurred despite stabilization, and in some markets, a decline in inpatient utilization.
| Nov 1, 2013
CBRE Group enhances healthcare platform with acquisition of KLMK Group
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) today announced that it has acquired KLMK Group, a leading provider of facility consulting, project advisory and facility activation solutions to the healthcare industry.
| Oct 30, 2013
15 stellar historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects
The winners of the 2013 Reconstruction Awards showcase the best work of distinguished Building Teams, encompassing historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovations and additions.
| Oct 30, 2013
11 hot BIM/VDC topics for 2013
If you like to geek out on building information modeling and virtual design and construction, you should enjoy this overview of the top BIM/VDC topics.
| Oct 28, 2013
Urban growth doesn’t have to destroy nature—it can work with it
Our collective desire to live in cities has never been stronger. According to the World Health Organization, 60% of the world’s population will live in a city by 2030. As urban populations swell, what people demand from their cities is evolving.
| Oct 18, 2013
Meet the winners of BD+C's $5,000 Vision U40 Competition
Fifteen teams competed last week in the first annual Vision U40 Competition at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco. Here are the five winning teams, including the $3,000 grand prize honorees.
| Oct 18, 2013
Researchers discover tension-fusing properties of metal
When a group of MIT researchers recently discovered that stress can cause metal alloy to fuse rather than break apart, they assumed it must be a mistake. It wasn't. The surprising finding could lead to self-healing materials that repair early damage before it has a chance to spread.
| Oct 14, 2013
The next level of Lean process for healthcare
Most hospitals have begun the Lean process improvement stage to eliminate waste, reduce travel distances, and minimize inventory, with varying levels of success. Here are three keys to creating a prosperous Lean program.