Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center

Project highlights: Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center

• Architecture firm:  EwingCole
• Owner: Essentia Health
• Location: Duluth, Minn.
• Category: B
• Project Site: Previously developed
• Building program type(s): Healthcare - hospital inpatient

• From its site on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior, this patient-centric project, a mix of significant new construction and renovated facilities, transforms the continuum of care for an underserved rural community in Duluth, Minnesota. The new St. Mary’s Medical Center represents a significant investment in the region that challenges traditional healthcare design through its bold, sustainable solutions.

  The team was hired in 2017 to develop a master plan for the campus’ future growth. It focused on a replacement hospital and an urban plan to integrate it into the larger context of the remaining myriad hospital facilities. The solution resulted in a new hospital that cascades down the hillside and spans three city blocks. Its vertical transition along the sloping urban grid allows for two public entries, each with its own dramatic lobby. 

  The project transforms multiple points of care in an institution assembled from two legacy hospitals, with some buildings dating back to the early 1900s. They are connected with above-ground bridges into one state-of-the-art, consolidated hospital. To graft advanced medical planning on a site that features a 100-foot elevation change, the design team focused on ideal circulation, entrances that offer access to community amenities, and a pervasive sense of place rooted in Duluth’s landscapes.

Patient-centric design boosts positive outcomes and responds to the specific needs of a small-town market by consolidating adaptable single inpatient rooms, a unified OR platform that integrates both inpatient and outpatient surgery, and an emergency department with separate street drop-offs. The project also includes a new radiology department, a system-wide laboratory, a mother and child floor, and a helipad. Open to the public, the inpatient entry floor is structured around a light-filled main street and links a large waiting lobby and amenities that include a nondenominational chapel, a dedicated Catholic church, and outdoor patios.

The inpatient tower boasts 344 beds, 342 of which are private. The rooms and decentralized nursing configuration maximize patient safety and reminiscent of an upscale hotel room. Each includes extensive glass windows offering sweeping views of the Great Lake and the hillside.

Both the client and design team envisioned the new hospital environment as comfortable, welcoming, and efficient. Drawing inspiration from Duluth’s cultural and natural surroundings, the lower levels of its facade speak to the nearby Victorian brownstone homes and businesses. In contrast, the glass facade of the upper levels and patient towers mirror the surface of Lake Superior. A roof garden, which offers an inspiring view of the lake, is planted with multiple layers of wildflowers and shrubs that have boosted the site’s bird and bee population. To eliminate bird strikes, the glass’ ceramic frit, which evokes the lake’s iconic fog, was designed with the Audubon Society.