OKW Architects partnered with NorthShore University HealthSystem to design a new concept of healthcare with the Immediate Care Clinics in Evanston, Illinois.

To expand into new markets while addressing the dramatic changes in the healthcare industry, NorthShore University HealthSystem worked with OKW to envision a new concept of healthcare delivery that explored non-traditional territory and challenged accepted standards.

OKW sourced real data from research, surveys, and in-house focus groups to glean the difference in healthcare preferences between the urban millennial and the baby boomer generation. We used this information as the backbone for our transformative concept, which included emerging trends from the hospitality, workplace, and retail sectors. Our designers then filtered these innovations and applied only those that were capable of improving NSUH’s patient experience.

The resulting Immediate Care clinic prototype is a warm and inviting prototype clinic that centers on Connectedness. Our design achieved this through the use of natural materials that run from the hospitality-grade lobby through the patient rooms. Wooden ceiling slats arranged in a curve inspired by a DNA helix unite both areas while modern materials such as translucent glass help pull natural light into every room.

The space embodies our team’s goal of improving the patient experience by translating the NorthShore brand into the physical environment.

Architect: OKW Architects
Contractor: Bulley & Andrews
Photography: Wayne Cable