Structural Engineer: Peter R. Krallitsch
MEP: Advance Mechanical Systems, Inc.
Contractor: Reed Illinois Corporation
This Doctor’s office is a first-time Owner build-out of ground level commercial space within a newly constructed residential high-rise in the River North Neighborhood. The project consolidates the practice and includes an operating suite and recovery area for out-patient surgery. The two-story waiting area and overlooking balcony creates a presence on the street that subtly markets podiatric medicine. It makes the most public part of a medical office into a billboard that projects casual professionalism more often associated with non-medical offices.
The arcing balcony and glass-bridge mediate between the strictly linear building exterior and the rational layout of exam rooms. The saw-tooth of office volumes play against the sweeping arc of the balcony fascia. The oblique entryway brings the natural concrete finish of the building’s exterior into play as a major component of the interior palette. Drywall surfaces are held back from glass and natural concrete exposing the structural deck as the ceiling. This creates a secondary separation from the street within the depth of the curtain wall of the building.