Friendship Village
Award of Merit: Residential
Two new buildings were built at the Friendship Village retirement community campus in northwest suburban Schaumburg, Ill.: Bridgewater Place and Friendship Center.
Bridgewater is a six-story, 385,000-sq-ft senior living facility. It contains 170 one- and two-bedroom units with luxurious amenities, including aquatic center, winter garden, fitness/wellness center, sports bar, upscale restaurant and other elements. The building also includes 66 underground parking spaces.
Friendship Center is a one-story, 15,000-sq-ft community center that features multi-purpose function spaces and concrete pier overlooking an existing pond.
The project required a new entrance road into the campus, an enlarged detention pond, extensive site utility relocation and considerable landscaping. Phase one required relocation of the existing underground utilities and the creation of a large earthen dike to protect the foundation footprint and provide a staging area.
Siting an Issue
The most significant project was the siting of Bridgewater Place—the 650-ft, six-story, curvilinear, post-tensioned structure—between three occupied independent living structures and a large stormwater retention pond.
The site constraints and the nature of the building’s exterior and structural elements were an issue for the sequencing and construction. Exterior design elements were introduced to articulate and soften the massing and create a distinct identity as a premier facility.
In addition, construction of a one-story, curved steel entrance was deferred to allow access to points west even though the entrance was critical to the completion and included several of the most challenging elements of construction.
The design of Bridgewater Place includes some distinctive design features.
For instance, large expanses of glass provide dramatic daylighting and views of the surrounding campus, imparting a feeling of openness. Also, the length of the building is punctuated at points by dramatic, five-story vertical glass elements to provide congregating points.
The adjunct structure, Friendship Center, is designed to be the heart of the community with meeting, function and spiritual gathering spaces. It features a concrete observation pier over the pond and is supported by glass railings for a dramatic view of the campus.
Moreover, Friendship Center features high, sloping ceilings and curved expanses of walls punctuated by interior glass for an open feeling. It also features a meditation garden.
Jury Comments: “It’s a solid senior/independent living center. Some aesthetic elements are pretty interesting. There is some beautiful landscaping.”
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