In local, extremely underwhelming architecture news, the new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) office at the growing public health services center on E. Alcott is complete. This bland EIFS edifice was designed by Royal Oak-based architecture firm Krieger Klatt and constructed by Walbridge. It "features" a 2-story, 70,000 SF building atop a level of covered parking. This rounds out the campus, which is also home now to the County's own department of Health & Human Services, a Family Health Center, and Kalamazoo Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (now known as "Integrated Services of Kalamazoo").
The majority of this campus sits upon former brownfield property. It is a good example of reuse and community vitalization, turning previously toxic land into a campus devoted to public health. And I have no issues with that. My main complaint is the odd agglomeration of architectural styles. The county health building is a repurposed historic masonry building from the paper mill days. The mental health facility is a 1980's-era, office-park style brick building. The family health center looks kind of like a glass spaceship. And then the state department building is a giant stucco box.
It seems like the campus entirely lacks any foresight or masterplan, even though it all came together in just the past 5 years. There's really no rhyme or reason to it (except that the state department building was the one that was most-obviously budget-driven).
Source:
MiBiz (Courtesy Photo)
For comparison...
The Family Health Center -
The County Department of Health & Human Services -
The Integrated Services (Mental Health & Substance Abuse) Building -
Source:
Google Maps
All adjacent to each other.