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The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) — one of the best children hospitals in the United States — is entering a major phase of expansion. As the organization's current main campus on Civic Boulevard is approaching capacity, it is moving parts of its research facilities across the Schuylkill river to 700 Schuylkill Avenue. There, a 23-storey, 114-metre edifice is destined to become CHOP's newest addition, and is currently under construction on their 8.4-acre site.
The first of four phases, the new building will be the tallest and offer 43,300 square metres of space dedicated to clinical research and office space. The organization has specified that the facility will only conduct 'dry research,' meaning that only research done with computers will be permitted on site, thus answering the local residents' concern about future medical activity coming to their neighbourhood.
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the building boasts a steel structure coated with a blue-tinted curtain wall. At ground level, the development includes new green public spaces as well as a pedestrian bridge connecting the new facility to the hospital's main campus on the other side of the river. The large and functional floor plates of phase one are scheduled for completion in 2017. A 1,400-spot parking garage and the public realm improvements mentioned earlier will have to meet CHOP's needs until approximately 2022, when the next phase of development will become reality.
Indeed, once fully complete, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's expansion plan will include a total of 200,000 square metres of office and research spaces, as well as a possible hotel and transit connections with the main campus. In the meantime, additional images and information can be found in our Database file linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Leave a comment at the bottom of this page or check out the associated Forum thread.
