Status Update: University of Chicago New Hospital Pavilion Project

A crane towers over Hyde Park as it assembles the University of Chicago's New Hospital Pavilion Project. Hopefully that's a temporary name.  The 10+1-story project designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects & Cannon Design should be done in 2012, and will add 1.2 million square feet of space to the medical campus.

Status Update: The Rush Starfish

A couple of weeks ago we started seeing blinking lights in the distance and at dusk the outline of unfamiliar cranes, so it was time for a little Pink Line field trip.

What we found is the construction site of a new hospital at Rush.  Everything we've been able to find on the interweb, in newspapers, and even on the sign outside the construction site calls this simply "New Hospital."  That will change eventually, but until it does, we're referring to it as "The Rush Starfish" because it's shaped something like a starfish with one of its appendages crammed into the medical center' atrium.

The design is actually pretty good looking, not that you can tell from these craptastic camera phone shots.  But it's all horizontal stripes and rounded corners and as long as it's kept clean, it could be nice.  But considering how dense and cramped the campus is getting these days it would be nice to see a little more thought put into public green spaces and a pedestrian's perspective on the buildings.  I'm sure a few patients wouldn't mind spending some of their recovery time in a park instead of a Buck Rogers dormitory.

Last Chance To Dance: Lakefront VA Hospital Almost Gone

For the last eight months or so, demolition crews have been very methodically and very loudly disassembling the old VA hospital in the heart of Streeterville .  If you've never seen the X-shaped building or have some attachment to it, better pay your respects soon, before it's too late.

What used to be four wings 15 stories tall is now down to just three, and those won't last long.

The VA sold the hospital for $52 million, and what plans Northwestern University has for the property haven't been disclosed to the public yet.

The best use would be a big fat park, but that won't happen.  You don't pay millions of dollars to house squirrels.  Somehow the owners have to recoup the money spent, and that means building up.

The hospital as demolition was beginning.