Resembling a giant toy within an existing drab commercial suburban context, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan provides a welcoming environment for both children and their families while serving as a visual icon in the surrounding community. As a result, the building has become a positive influence on the planning of future projects as well as a recognizable symbol of healthcare excellence in the region.

The playful composition identifies the primary service functions and support spaces within the main three-story blue block, the two-story yellow block denotes the main entrance lobby and the single-story red block identifies the emergency entrance and associated functions. These simple moves of color, geometry and scale create a welcoming memorable image while providing a necessary visual way-finding tool for the anxious parent as they arrive with their ill child.

“We wanted a number of bright colors and textures to capture the imagination of children and Glen-Gery had the products to turn our design vision into reality. We started with the colored pencils used in the original design sketches and Glen-Gery matched the design intent perfectly. Furthermore, they were able to deliver their material to the site to meet the demanding fast track schedule and within the allocated budget.” – Arthur Smith, FAIA, LEED AP BD + C, Harley Ellis Devereaux Architects (HED)

The masonry was a perfect material choice due to the variety of color, texture and scale. The blue box is comprised of only utility brick to provide color variations within an uniform texture. Conversely, the yellow entrance and red emergency boxes employ one solid color each that are comprised of norman units with bands of custom utility units to create a variation of texture. This small scale detail was intentionally incorporated to provide surprise and delight to the children patients of this facility.

From the prominent playful exterior design through the friendly and welcoming interior planning and design, a child-focused environment is created just for kids and their unique needs. Color, materiality, detailing, spacial organization and lighting reinforce the concept of creating a transformational experience for children with special medical needs that appears more suited as a big toy than a medical facility.

The use of simple color for these basic functions creates a fun memorable image not found in healthcare design while establishing a powerful branded image. Seen as an animated visual beacon at night along a mostly dark stretch of road, during the day, the glass throughout the building is a colorful composition that not only coordinates with the brick masonry but brings the interior environment to life with a kaleidoscope of color, lighting and pattern creating a vibrant healing environment that nourishes the human spirit.

On June 13, 2008, flood waters crested in Cedar Rapids at 31.12 feet, 19.12 feet above flood stage, inundating the Central Fire Station with 11 feet of water. The building was declared a total loss.

A new 67,140 square foot Central Fire Station was constructed with two-stories above grade and one below. It has eight apparatus bays, seven of which are drive-through. The first floor is occupied by the firefighters and contains seventeen dorm rooms, weight and cardio rooms, kitchen and dining room, day room and library. The administration occupies the second floor with offices, conference rooms and an emergency operations center. The basement houses parking for the staff vehicles, mechanical and storage spaces. A wing on the end of the apparatus bay contains training, storage and support spaces for the firefighters.

Glen-Gery brick was selected as the primary cladding material in an effort to pay homage to the original Central Fire Station, a masonry structure that served for nearly 70 years, from 1917-1985, and later as the city’s Science Station until the 2008 flood. Selecting brick from the Glen-Gery Marseilles Plant meant not only was the product selected going to be beautiful, but it was also mined and fired within the LEED Certification requirements, which contributed to this building receiving LEED Platinum Certification!

The expansive deep red brick building gives the city a landmark at a busy city block on the main avenue.

The Fire Department stated these requirements for the design of the new fire station: “Built of durable and maintainable materials, achieve LEED Platinum Certification, and act as a reminder of the proud history of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department.” And it did just that! The building achieved LEED Platinum Certification, and at the time of writing it is the largest fire station in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum Certification.

This project is a shining example of what happens when an architect’s vision comes together with quality workmanship and great materials!

This project is two blends: Dark Grey is a 3-way blend of Norman Klaycoat. The Light Grey blend is a 3-way blend of Norman S56 Oyster Grey, S72 Smoky Quartz, and S181 Dolomite Grey.

Originally constructed in 1960, Briarwood Elementary maintained its neighborhood school image well into the 21st century. Many decades and two additions later, the sprawling footprint of the building could not keep up with a growing enrollment. The design team was tasked with designing a replacement school on the same site, while improving the parent drop-off route, providing a dedicated bus lane and increasing on-site parking. Additionally, the team had to maintain a proper neighborhood context to the smaller scale neighboring houses.

The land-locked school required a complete building demolition in order to erect a new two-story facility that could effectively accommodate the growing enrollment and other school needs. 

Because of its neighborhood context, Briarwood Elementary needed help minimizing its near 40’ tall presence of the classroom wing. Though the site has a natural depression from the nearby houses, norman size Glen-Gery brick were selected to help elongate the overall form rather than help elevate it.

Additionally, to add some relief on the building, every fourth course was stepped in to help further accentuate the horizontal rather than the vertical on the classroom wing. With many schools having the stereotype of red brick buildings (in addition to not many adjacent houses being red brick) the design team selected a light grey 3-way blend and a dark grey klaycoat 3-way blend. The level at which the blends change on the classroom wing is 9’-4” which represents the elevation of the eaves of the former Briarwood Elementary.

The district had an established history of success using Glen-Gery brick on multiple buildings over the years and insisted the use of Glen-Gery products again to maintain success and consistency amongst the district - a decision that did not disappoint.

While the new facility is within 3% of the same total square foot size of the former facility, the usable space to hallway ratio was significantly improved thus making the new facility better equipped for the growing enrollment than the former facility. The compact footprint and approach to traditional application of space went a long way into helping the project come in on time and on budget.