Broadway Youth Center

Project highlights: Broadway Youth Center

• Architecture firm: Wheeler Kearns Architects 
• Owner: Howard Brown Health 
• Location: Chicago 
• Category: A 
• Project site: Previously developed 
• Building program type(s): Healthcare - clinic

Thanks to its thoughtful design approach, Howard Brown Health's Broadway Youth Center is a welcoming and inclusive space that offers comprehensive healthcare services and social programs for LGBTQ+ young people in Chicago. Built on a tight urban site, the center is at the intersection of multiple transit lines, making it a resource for the local neighborhood while also accessible to young people throughout the wider city.

Howard Brown Health (HBH) has been offering services in Chicago since 1985, and its Broadway Youth Center, founded in 2004 as a trauma-informed alternative to traditional care environments, had moved from location to location throughout Chicago’s north side. As the center’s lease expired, and demand for services and clinic waiting times soared, HBH turned to the design team to develop the organization’s first ground-up new building.

The new building is more than four times larger than the center’s previous facility with double the exam and therapy spaces. It also boasts a commercial kitchen, a multipurpose room, and dedicated space for the center’s transgender and nonconforming program. Through its new facility, HBH expects to increase its client base by more than 200%, serving nearly 6,000 patients seeking healthcare services and 4,500 clients with social service needs.

The team’s design incorporates the unique values and identities of the center’s community into the building’s physical fabric. Its outermost layer is a symbolic facade composed of a patchwork of large masonry panels that feature varying shades and patterns of bricks which wrap the building like a quilt. Inside, a series of safe and inviting spaces await patients and clients. Accent colors and murals on every floor mingle with airy spaces and comfortable furnishings, imbuing the therapeutic spaces with the community’s youthful and artistic spirit.

Trauma-informed design principles were incorporated throughout, ensuring positive individual outcomes and the overall program’s success. The team’s use of warm wood and colorful furnishings lend the center a sense of home, helpful for community members who are experiencing homelessness. Safety and empowerment are bolstered by clear sightlines that allow patients and clients to see where they are and monitor their space.

Inside the clinical rooms, which are typically window-less and sterile, daylight, color, and soft furnishings create a calming atmosphere. Those spaces also feature enhanced filtration and high-performing glazing that improves acoustic isolation from the nearby elevated train.

By acknowledging the unique journey of each person it serves, the center is addressing health inequalities and greatly enhancing the well-being of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ youth, especially those experiencing homelessness. Inside, the community is treated to a vibrant and light-filled facility that encourages young people to heal and flourish.