A tipster forwarded Northwestern University's Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a new medical research building at the site of the to-be-demolished Old Prentice. The building will be part of the Feinberg School of Medicine. The RFQ addresses 23 architecture firms, six of which are local (including Perkins+Will and Cannon Design). Most of the firms have sizable lab/medical building portfolios. Our tipster notes that there aren't any heavy hitters on the list, and that past indications from Northwestern suggest interest in a memorable but less-than-iconic design — an elegant box in other words, nothing too permanent. The school envisions up to 1.2M square-feet of lab space, with half of that coming initially and engineering allowances for future expansion. The RFQ calls for a phase one 12-story building on the Prentice site, attached to an adjacent 11-story Lurie Building expansion over an existing loading dock. Northwestern is seeking a minimum LEED-Silver designation. And wouldn't you know it, the RFQ proposals are due today. The winning firm will be chosen by December, according to the written timeline, but no construction work is planned until March 2017.
·Northwestern University's Architect RFQ [Google Doc]
·Old Prentice Coverage [Curbed Chicago]
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