What does it take to reach 100? As part of our 100^th anniversary celebration, we’re posting a piece of Berglund’s history on our blog each day for 100 days. Check in each day to learn new tidbits about our company, win prizes based on your Berglund knowledge, and, most of all, to help us celebrate.

Spotlight on Berglund’s Work: Construction

University of Chicago Children’s Hospital

Going to the hospital can be scary for kids and their parents. That’s why the upgraded Frankel Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit at the University of Chicago’s Wyler Children’s Hospital was designed to make families feel safe and give them options during their stay.

Berglund built out the 12,500-square-foot wing inside the footprint of the original intensive care unit, which dated back to 1963. The 13-bed unit features private rooms as well as two four-bed open areas so that children can stay with others if needed. All patient rooms and unit entrances are clearly visible from the central nurse and control station, and the remodeled wing now has a single reception area to make checking in simpler. Berglund also built out parent and education areas and a new entrance for the unit.

While the changes may not make it any more fun to be at the hospital, the new wing aims to make the stay a little easier for everyone involved.

What does it take to reach 100? As part of our 100^th anniversary celebration, we’re posting a piece of Berglund’s history on our blog each day for 100 days. Check in each day to learn new tidbits about our company, win prizes based on your Berglund knowledge, and, most of all, to help us celebrate.

Spotlight on Berglund’s Work: Construction

First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield

When First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield wanted to expand, the church turned to a construction firm it could partner with from start to finish. Berglund provided preconstruction services to the Deerfield, Ill., church before constructing its new fellowship hall and relic chapel, which helped to keep the project on schedule and on budget.

The $5 million addition, which took 10 months to complete, includes two stories and a basement and features a balcony on the second floor. The project won the 2008 Craftsmanship Award for Excellence in Masonry Design Execution from the Illinois Indiana Masonry Council.

What does it take to reach 100? As part of our 100^th anniversary celebration, we’re posting a piece of Berglund’s history on our blog each day for 100 days. Check in each day to learn new tidbits about our company, win prizes based on your Berglund knowledge, and, most of all, to help us celebrate.

Spotlight on Berglund’s Work: Construction

Weiss Memorial Hospital

While its setting overlooking Lake Michigan is beautiful, the employees at Weiss Memorial Hospital are focused instead on the serious work happening inside. Fortunately, hospital employees are well-equipped to handle the emergencies that come their way, thanks to the emergency room and intensive care addition Berglund constructed for Weiss.

Berglund spent 15 months building the 46,000-square-foot, $12 million addition, which features emergency room facilities, an intake area, an intensive care unit and private physician offices. New amenities include a state-of-the-art trauma room, a fast-track emergency room area for non-urgent patients with a dedicated physician, and a decontamination room for chemical and biohazard emergencies. Berglund used a renaissance stone façade throughout the structure, and matched the façade of the hospital’s older building to maintain a consistent feel. The project took home the Illinois-Indiana Masonry Council’s Silver Award for Best of Healthcare.

What does it take to reach 100? As part of our 100th anniversary celebration, we’re posting a piece of Berglund’s history on our blog each day for 100 days. Check in each day to learn new tidbits about our company, win prizes based on your Berglund knowledge, and, most of all, to help us celebrate.

Spotlight on Berglund’s Work: Construction

St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church

Berglund brought a bit of Byzantine to Chicago’s south suburbs when we constructed St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church. The Lansing, Ill., church’s design is based on traditional Byzantine architecture, a style that dates back to the fourth century.

The church features a prominent central cupola – the cornerstone of religious Byzantine design – and a second cupola over the interior to achieve optimal acoustics. We built the church out of brick and stone, materials prized by the Byzantines for their longevity. The completed church was featured in the Midwest Construction Review’s 2003 Illinois Showcase for Religious Facilities.

What does it take to reach 100? As part of our 100th anniversary celebration, we’re posting a piece of Berglund’s history on our blog each day for 100 days. Check in each day to learn new tidbits about our company, win prizes based on your Berglund knowledge, and, most of all, to help us celebrate.

Don’t forget — today is the last day to win a $15 Starbucks card by answering the latest Berglund 101 question correctly!

Spotlight on Berglund’s Work: Construction

North American Spine Society

All the buildings that Berglund constructs are sturdy, but it’s a little unusual for one to actually have a backbone.

That’s exactly what you’ll find at the North American Spine Society’s headquarters in Burr Ridge, Ill. The structure’s roof features a “spine” – 20 45-foot-long rolled steel tubes interspersed with skylights, creating the effect of individual vertebrae. The distinctive topper hints at the work going on inside the building, which the North American Spine Society bought to use as the site of its first surgical training center.

In addition to building out the training center, Berglund built lecture rooms, classrooms, a lab and lab storage, and a conference room with teleconferencing capabilities. The completed building features terrazzo floors, wood-paneled halls, curved ceilings and other luxe details, along with fully updated mechanical and electrical systems. The construction site was a familiar one to Berglund – we also built the Bank Financial headquarters next door. Berglund completed the North American Spine Society’s project in eight months, and the finished structure has the backbone to stand up to years of use by future spinal surgeons.