Healthcare Design - August 2021 - 52

down into the underground space and to provide
privacy so no one can look directly down
like you can with a flat skylight.
When leadership said we could do the skylights,
I shifted to how I could get maximum
attention from a small skylight and create that
presence. I thought of the pyramid of the Louvre.
The Louvre is also underground, and you
would never know there is a world-class museum
there if not for the pyramid. So I maximized
the design opportunity to make the
pyramids happen. It allows those on campus a
glimpse of the innovation below and those in
the simulation lab a window to the outside.
AWARD OF MERIT
FUTURE FORWARD
The University of Illinois Chicago School of Medicine
Surgical and Innovation Training Lab imagines how
surgical environments will evolve to ensure students are
preparing for what comes next By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis
A RENOVATION of an existing unused space in the basement of University
of Illinois Chicago's Neuropsychiatric Institute, the 17,000-square-foot
University of Illinois Chicago School of Medicine Surgical and Innovation
Training Lab (SITL) creates a futuristic simulation space for surgical students.
The project earned an Award of Merit for its creative solution to its unique
location, including the introduction of skylights to bring in natural light as well
as create a visible presence for the school on the exterior of the building. Inside,
a hyper-flexible design allows an appropriate setting to mimic surgical space
of today as well as anticipate how surgeons of the future might operate. The
project was submitted to the Design Showcase by CannonDesign and Bailey
Edward. Here, lead designer Carlos Amato, health market leader for Southern
California offices at CannonDesign (Los Angeles), shares insight on some of the
design solutions most celebrated by the jury.
Healthcare Design: This project is a renovation of a basement in an existing
space-without any visible exterior. How did you deliver a presence
for the school on the outside, despite these conditions?
Carlos Amato: This was a significant design challenge because the lab is entirely
underground, so the program can't have an overt physical presence to passersby
on campus. One of the challenges we faced was enhancing the underground
space and connecting it with daylight and nature. The skylights that are now part
of the completed design were not part of the original scope of the project; however,
in conversations with Dr. Pier Guilianotti, who heads up the lab, he spoke
often about how important it is for staff and students to have that connection
with nature when doing their work. That prompted a series of conversations
with university leadership, and eventually I came up with the idea of incorporating
skylights. The reason the skylights are pyramid shaped is to bring the light
52
AU GUST 2021
HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Skylights, modeled
after the Louvre in
Paris, introduce
natural light to the
underground Surgical
and Innovation
Training Lab and
give the space an
exterior presence on
campus.
What other challenges did you have to
solve, given the existing site?
The basement space was initially dark, old,
abandoned, and leaky. That's the reason it was
available: No one else wanted the space. One
of the initial challenges was developing a creative
way to manage the mechanical air distribution
system and make it work in a space
with a very low floor-to-ceiling height. This
challenge was aggravated by the fact that the
operating and procedure rooms we were trying
to simulate typically have the highest ceilings
in a hospital. So we had to manipulate the
mechanical systems to make this possible.
Access to the basement was another challenge.
The main public elevator down to the
lab was not suitable to serve as an entrance
to a world-class simulation center, so we upgraded
and revamped that system completely.
While not a design challenge, convincing
the staff and surgeons that we could turn such
an unappealing space into a hub for cuttingedge
research was difficult at first. We had to
create excitement and the right visual imagery
to help them understand this would be a
remarkable space where they could execute
surgeries and innovations to the field for the
foreseeable future.
What did that type of setting require in
terms of the space and infrastructure
necessary to support equipment/technology
needs?
The most difficult aspect of the design of this
space was also the most inspiring and rewarding.
University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
leadership asked us to design a space where
the brightest minds could experiment and
simulate for an unknown future reality. We
were able to find success through extensive
collaboration with surgeons, educators, and
LAURA PETERS/CANNONDESIGN
http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - August 2021

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