At the heart of this residence designed for a pair of a empty nesters is what the architects describe as the “coffee house”—a light-filled, communal space featuring a terrace overlooking the back garden.
This master bath breaks the mold of the traditional lavatory: not only is it uniquely integral to the success of its adjacent bedroom, it also contends with challenging site conditions. One would hardly suspect all that is at play here, thanks to a meticulous execution by Chicago-based Studio Dwell Architects.
Client: Northwest Community Healthcare Completion Date: May 2010 Program: An eight-story, 225,000-square-foot addition to the hospital, with an 11,000-square-foot lobby, an emergency department, intensive care, private patient rooms, and medical/surgical and perinatal units. Design Concept and Solution: The architects sought to enhance both the safety and privacy of patients while standardizing rooms for ease of care. The triangular form of the tower—whose sharp tip stands in counterpoint to the hospital's International Style campus—shortens travel distances for staff. To boost efficiency and flexibility, each room is a standard size, with a consistent layout, and is equipped to serve intensive-care patients and
Alfred Swenson and his late wife, Pao-Chi Chang, were drawn to the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) for one reason: Mies van der Rohe. Both studied architecture there under Mies during the 1950s.
