Park Plaza - Elevator Addition
Chicago, Illinois
Park Plaza Retirement Center, a 190 unit senior housing facility in Chicago which was built in 1985, was purchased by the Northwest Home for the Aged, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. The new ownership wanted to make improvements to the facility to address perceived deficiencies, provide additional amenities, and attract new and younger residents. They approached Hirsch Associates to help them develop a program and implementation strategy. The final design was developed as a phased approach:
To adequately service the building's elderly population, it was readily apparent that the current elevators were insufficient. Too small, too slow and too remote for the east wing, various options for the addition of an elevator were studied. Adding a new elevator within the building proved to not be structurally feasible, so a new elevator in its own tower, outside of the building and connected to the atrium, was proposed. Clad in horizontal bands of brick, stone and glass, the new elevator tower serves more than just its utilitarian need. It became the symbol for Park Plaza, a vertical beacon complete with illuminated penthouse and stainless steel signage; a new image and identity for the home. In addition, a new emergency generator was added, servicing the elevator, kitchen, emergency lighting and boiler pumps, to make sure that the facility could continue to operate in case of power failure.
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