BioMed 21: BJC Institute of Health at Washington University

drdrew · PostJun 28, 2007#12007-06-28T14:33+00:00

Just saw a poster for the new research building at the medical campus. It will fill the large hole adjacent to the Metrolink tracks until recently ocupied by the decrepit "Wayco" parking garage. Construction of the 7-story, 280,000 building gross square foot structure will begin in September, and be completed in November of '09. Preliminary renderings from Cannon Design, the same folks who did the EPNEC and part of the Center for Advanced Medicine, are on display at the medical school, but i couldn't find them online anywhere. It's an attractive, but somewhat generic, research building, with materials reminiscant of the McDonnell pediatric research building across the street from the site. There will be a plaza at the corner of Children's place and Euclid.

It was unclear from the renderings how this building will relate to the Metrolink tracks, and to the Barnes hospital loading docks directly to their south. It appears as though this building might actually sit over the tracks, but I couldn't tell for certain.

The one thing that I didn't like about the rendering is that it shows another blockage of Euclid, south of Children's place. This has been in the master plan for a while, but I was hoping the powers that be had changed their minds. If there's one thing that this forum has convinced me of in the past two years, it's that reducing the options for vehicle and pedestrian circulation actually make traffic more unpleasant and dangerous, not calmer, as would seem to be the goal here. With that section of road closed off, circulation would still work fine, provided you know where you're going when you turn off of Kingshighway. If you are, say, a patient coming to BJH for the first time, it would be very easy to get confused as to where you're headed, and end up on Taylor with no idea of how to get to your goal.

jcity · PostJun 29, 2007#22007-06-29T18:19+00:00

I HATE when the city allows different companies, hospitals or whatever to close the street grid. The little pedestrian plaza thing is straight out of 1965. Locust looks AWFUL between Broadway and Fourth and the same can now be said for Euclid being closed around BJC.

However, I DO think it was OK for SLU to close West Pine.

framer · PostJul 01, 2007#32007-07-01T04:33+00:00

I had forgotten all about this building. Seems like a long time since it was first announced. Can someone post an image? I'm a fan of Cannon's work.

I agree, it's ridiculous that Euclid has been chopped up and closed off. That should be a major artery for the Med Center.

Alex Ihnen · PostAug 03, 2007#42007-08-03T15:23+00:00

As I understand it - the top 6 or 7 floors will be WU Med/research and the bottom six will be BJC . . .

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

moorlander · PostAug 03, 2007#52007-08-03T15:37+00:00

looks like the purple building will be the tallest in the complex.

this is great news

c2city · PostAug 03, 2007#62007-08-03T18:31+00:00

Thank god someone got a picture of this up. I work next to the pit and I have been wondering what the exact design would be.

Where were the poster, photos, or models.

drdrew · PostAug 05, 2007#72007-08-05T00:16+00:00

Interesting...that's a pretty comprehensive model, but they're missing the 12-story Rand Johnson building (between the main pavilion and queeny tower)

framer · PostAug 05, 2007#82007-08-05T02:39+00:00

What's with the blank space along Euclid? You know, the void that the building seems to wrap around?

Alex Ihnen · PostAug 05, 2007#92007-08-05T03:06+00:00

^ an 'urban' plaza of course! (actually I don't know.)

c2city · PostAug 05, 2007#102007-08-05T06:19+00:00

Hopefully it will be an "'urban' plaza" otherwise there will be little to no sunlight hitting the McDonnell Pediatric Research Building (the building to the right of the space).

arch city · PostAug 06, 2007#112007-08-06T03:19+00:00

Cool looking project in terms of size. They are beefing it up from the original plans it seems. Keep in mind this is not even including plans for the little park south of the medical complex.

I hope the rendering is just a scale rendering and not how the building might actually look.

MattnSTL · PostAug 06, 2007#122007-08-06T15:39+00:00

^Appears to just show the structure with no facade. I hope they will continue with the modern architecture they have used in recent buildings.

This should be a nice addition to the area.

shadrach · PostAug 06, 2007#132007-08-06T22:22+00:00

Very nice. Love the density and height. This area is becoming really energetic.

framer · PostAug 07, 2007#142007-08-07T04:29+00:00

Cannon does good work. High quality, well-detailed, modernist inspired. I'm sure this one will be just as nice.

drdrew · PostAug 20, 2007#152007-08-20T23:04+00:00

Took another look at the renderings today, and they are consistant with the phase 1 picture posted above. Looks like an 11-story building, with the top 7 being research, similar to the southwest tower, an 8-story structure with the ER, trauma OR's and CTICU on the first four floors, with labs above.

New info: One of the streets they have blocked, children's place, will eventually reopen, but the section of Euclid between Wash U's West building and children's place is gone for good. Gone also is the east drive to the chromalloy kidney center (the old ER).

In addition, starting Sept. 1st, the employee shuttle stop on the southeast corner of the children's place/euclid intersection will be closed, and the coal bunker currently standing on it will be demolished. This will be the site of Wash U's next research/office building, though it's unclear when that would be built.

jlblues · PostAug 21, 2007#162007-08-21T01:06+00:00

clellchatman wrote:Hopefully it will be an "'urban' plaza" otherwise there will be little to no sunlight hitting the McDonnell Pediatric Research Building (the building to the right of the space).

They also put quite a bit of $$$ and effort into the design to make the McDonnell building a "signature" building . I don't think they want it completely hidden behind a taller building.

blzhrpmd2 · PostSep 14, 2007#172007-09-14T18:58+00:00

I have never been very familiar with the topography around the medical center, but am currently doing a rotation at Barnes and am enjoying learning the lay of the land. My first day the doc showing me around took me over to the construction site and explained the building was to be seventeen floors which would make it one of the largest research buildings in the country. He was unsure of the time frame, however. Is there a projected completion date?

Alex Ihnen · PostSep 14, 2007#182007-09-14T19:01+00:00

Blzhrpmd2 wrote:I have never been very familiar with the topography around the medical center, but am currently doing a rotation at Barnes and am enjoying learning the lay of the land. My first day the doc showing me around took me over to the construction site and explained the building was to be seventeen floors which would make it one of the largest research buildings in the country. He was unsure of the time frame, however. Is there a projected completion date?

Spring 2009 - I think.

drdrew · PostSep 22, 2007#192007-09-22T15:40+00:00

They took their time setting up the construction trailers and such, but they've really gone to town the last week hauling away the remaining concrete rubble from the old garage, and now they have trucks going pretty constantly clearing dirt from the new hole. It'll be interesting how they do this without disrupting the metrolink or the main hospital loading docks.

MattnSTL · PostOct 16, 2007#202007-10-16T23:39+00:00

Meant to post sooner, but the tower crane went up at the end of last week.

Alex Ihnen · PostOct 17, 2007#212007-10-17T00:22+00:00

I believe there's an official groundbreaking cermony at the end of the this month (with speaches, shiny shovels, etc.)

arch city · PostOct 30, 2007#222007-10-30T18:36+00:00

Get more information and see a video: BioMed 21

Immense new facility to house BioMed 21 research at Washington University Medical Center

Highlights

The largest building ever constructed on the campus of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will be the home base for BioMed 21 — the University's innovative research initiative designed to speed scientific discovery and apply breakthroughs to patient care rapidly. The building is supported by a $30 million gift to Washington University's medical school from BJC HealthCare and will be named the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University.

Construction began in the summer of 2007 on the new building, which will house not only BioMed 21 laboratories and support facilities but also two academic departments of the School of Medicine as well as some support operations of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The University will be adding 240,000 square feet of research space, and the estimated total cost of the building will be $235 million. As a hub for BioMed 21, the building will provide space for five newly created Interdisciplinary Research Centers (IRCs).

In other major developments exemplifying the progress of the BioMed 21 program, an $11 million, 16,000 square-foot, free-standing computing facility is being constructed to house the computing equipment needed to support the rapidly expanding research of the world-leading Genome Sequencing Center. (See related announcement.) In addition, 15,000 square feet of space are being added to the previously established Center for Genome Sciences to support 11 new investigators who will design and interpret genome-anchored clinical studies linking disease traits to human genetic makeup.

Launched in 2003, BioMed 21 creates a multidisciplinary- and translational-research imperative for basic scientists and clinician-researchers from many different medical disciplines. "We launched BioMed 21 because we recognized that effective collaboration among researchers in different fields is essential to the future of medicine," says Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. "The initiative creates mechanisms to more quickly bring basic scientific knowledge to application for medical treatments. These expansions announced today are monumental and demonstrate the strength of our commitment to research that will revolutionize medical care."

Get more information and see a video: BioMed 21

Alex Ihnen · PostOct 30, 2007#232007-10-30T19:13+00:00

Where's Tiny E when you need him? That thing is HUGE!

matt drops the h · PostOct 30, 2007#242007-10-30T20:36+00:00

The design of the building is interesting, but why is the street level a brick wall?

(And where is this, by the way?)

Alex Ihnen · PostOct 30, 2007#252007-10-30T21:08+00:00

It's the big hole adjacent to Euclid and the Metrolink stop. We're looking at the north and east facades in the rendering.