With both inpatient and outpatient visits on the rise, Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin’s new Center for Advanced Care needed to maximize efficiency and expandability while simultaneously supporting cutting-edge medicine and reflecting the brand. Housing specialty clinics that were formerly dispersed across campus, including a Heart and Vascular Center and a Transplant Center, the building accommodates up to 12 floors above grade with clinics that utilize a universal exam room for maximum adaptability. The building is connected to the campus’ other main buildings on the second floor, providing a critical link between the campus facilities. Building on the corporate campus aesthetic, the design of Center for Advanced Care emulates the successful aspects of previous projects, while cultivating an energy that is uniquely its own and responding to its unique site.

Our collaboration with Froedtert, Medical College of Wisconsin, the construction manager, numerous consultants, and the larger community led to successful consensus building, cost efficiencies and economies of scale. The original scope of the project consisted of five floors above grade, with the structural ability to accommodate seven additional floors. As the project evolved, the construction of four additional floors over active patient care was added to the scope. The design and construction teams accommodated this significant change without adding any additional time to the construction duration. As a result, the project was ENR Midwest’s Best Health Care Project in 2020. The Center for Advanced Care ultimately provides the clinical space for Froedtert to begin renovating existing operating rooms and consolidating them into one area of the hospital, facilitating greater operational efficiency.

The Center for Advanced Care’s energized verticality and sculptural aesthetic alludes to the cutting-edge nature of the work taking place inside. We brought this energy into the public spaces through the repetition of color and shape, use of a vertical architectural elements, and development of a split waiting area concept that brings patients, staff, and visitors closer to the windows to take advantage of the views, or to use a more private space offering a sense of respite. While these elements give the building a distinct identity from the neighboring Clinical Cancer Center, the generous use of glazing creates a reflection of the nearby woods and ponds, unifying the buildings as part of one campus that is connected to the local environment. The thoughtful application of system-wide interior material and finish standards and a universal exam room position Froedtert to quickly adjust to future changes.