Plaza West Tower
Realizing a long-term vision of exceptional academic medical care
- Client
- BJC HealthCare
- Location
- Missouri, United States
- Size
- 660,000 square feet
- Status
- Completed
As the latest addition to the St. Louis skyline, the Plaza West Tower is the new centerpiece on BJC HealthCare’s premier urban academic medical campus, which encompasses Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) and Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH). This 16-story tower is one of many capital projects that originated from a strategic campus plan that aimed to renew and expand their services and capabilities.
This tower houses 280 private inpatient rooms, of which 224 are acute care and 56 are ICU rooms — many with sweeping views of neighboring Forest Park and Hudlin Park. The building also includes a new kitchen and cafeteria to serve the entire South Campus, over 100 prep/recovery bays to serve the procedural platform, and cutting-edge diagnostic and procedural imaging modalities such as MRI, CT, Interventional Radiology as well as Neuro Interventional Radiology services. Plaza West Tower is adjacent to the Level 1 Adult Trauma Emergency Department that remained operational during construction.
Modernizing and building new facilities was key to BJC’s Campus Renewal plan. As part of this process, an existing outdated high-rise inpatient tower was demolished. Rising from that site, the Plaza West Tower redefines the arrival for the adult and children’s hospital on campus, as part of the goal of improving the patient and family experience and making it a true care destination.
The new tower anchors the southwest corner of the WUMC/BJH campus and is the gateway building for visitors entering campus from the south. The exterior design takes cues from neighboring Parkview Tower and St. Louis Children’s to the north: the tower is clad in ultra-high performance concrete panels, and the podium consists of locally quarried Missouri Limestone. A large projection of glass is cantilevered over the west, connecting the tower to the St Louis’ storied Forest Park. Finally, a prominent glass lantern faces south towards the highway, and at night serves as a lighted beacon that represents BJC’s commitment to the St. Louis community.
A new glass-enclosed lobby addition redefines the entry experience to welcome patients and visitors at the street level of the South Campus. The two-story lobby helps with wayfinding and connects to the main campus circulation and information area, called “The Link,” on the second floor. Three new glass-enclosed elevators connect the street and main level lobbies.
Reinvesting in the entry experience for patients, visitors and staff was informed by experiences of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new bridge was designed that allows for panoramic views of the surrounding park space, and provides generous space for seating, security screening, and social distancing protocols. Connected to the new lobby through interior materiality and artwork, the new bridge extends the entry experience into the underground parking garage and improves visitor wayfinding.
Each floor of the building is associated with a botanical from the surrounding urban gardens, chosen for their calming and uplifting qualities. These botanicals also act as wayfinding for patients and visitors, and artwork from local artists complements these themes throughout the building. The fifth floor is home to two roof gardens designed for relaxation, with seating inspired by the tower’s floral themes.
Delivery through a progressive design-build partnership with McCarthy Building Companies allowed for a unified team that aligned motivations, goals and individual efforts to ensure they all served the ultimate goals of the patient tower project. Additionally, CannonDesign collaborated with 12 Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) partners to achieve more than 28 percent of MWBE participation during the entire duration of the Plaza West Tower project.
CannonDesign’s strategic planning services across the BJC campuses, from large urban academic centers to smaller community hospitals and critical access facilities, helped to develop a standardized approach that fit BJC’s vision and mission. This continuity has allowed our firm to grow familiar with their standards and decision-making process and ensured trust in the process throughout the creation and subsequent implementation of the Plaza West Tower.
