Women's Hospital and Psychiatric Institute • Chicago – (U.S.A.)

Abstract

The Prentice Hospital is made up of a women's clinic with Maternity Center and a Psychiatric Institute and it was built to enlarge the two nearby Medical Centers to which it is joined by the basement and two bridges over street level. The 28.800 m² building has two clearly differentiated components: one 4 - storey block with rectangular plan form; further a 7-storey high concrete tower which rises from a base consisting of four corbel arches and situated on the terrace of the first component. The total height of the complex exceeds 75 m. The lower body contains the women's clinic and the Psychiatric Institute.The tower holds 152 rooms for in-patients. The base building is a reinforced concrete frame structure with plane concrete floor slabs and exterior curtain walls. The tower is entirely of lightweight concrete with arches in corbels which concentrate the loads on the central core. The hospital is equipped with a wide range of highly modern and complete installations. The design of the tower —a sculpture on a conventional building— gives this complex a unique look.