The Austin Wellness Center is a 28,000 square foot medical office building in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. The two story facility provides ground floor space for Austin Clinic, a satellite primary health care center that is part of the Cook County Ambulatory and Community Health Network. A private hemo-dialysis center is located on the second floor.
The basic building block is carved out to give the building definition and to orient the user to the main building entrance. The entry plaza creates a welcoming public space at a very congested and pedestrian unfriendly street intersection.
The Austin Clinic required a discrete entry accessible from the rear parking lot, while still maintaining a street presence. The waiting room and reception are located at the building’s perimeter to take advantage of daylight and to signal the clinic’s presence to local residents. The Clinic provides much needed 17 exam rooms, a procedure room and lab, provider’s office and conference area, medical records, administrative offices and support areas, and multi-purpose room used for patient education.
Austin Wellness Center is the first new commercial building in the Austin neighborhood in nearly 50 years. It is part of a significant revitalization occurring along the Chicago and Cicero Avenues.
