Eyas Landing - Merlin Day Academy — SEEK Design + Architecture

Eyas Landing
Merlin Day Academy

Location: Avondale, Chicago, Illinois
Year: 2023
Size: 22,000 sq ft
Status: Completed
Category: Education, Institutional, Commercial
Services: Architecture, Interiors

Eyas Landing Therapeutic Clinic is a wellness and academic program that focuses on multidisciplinary therapy in a school-like setting for children and adolescents in need of occupational, speech, developmental, physical, feeding, behavior, or ABA therapy. For their new location in Avondale, an existing 22,000-square-foot two-story brick and steel building was transformed to provide specialized educational spaces, including classrooms, treatment rooms, therapy rooms, conference rooms, and administrative offices.

The project reimagines the entry sequence along Elston Ave, making it accessible while providing a new, refined look that responds to Eyas Landing and the Merlin Day Academy. New architectural elements include an integrated wheelchair ramp with a planter and areas for signage, a school mural, and the main entrance canopy framing the main entrance while providing a protected entry point. The new dedicated school entry on the south facade provides students and faculty easy access to the playground and drop-off areas. A distinctive branded mural visually links the two entry points and extends the Eyas and Merlin branding across the building facade.

The challenge for the health and wellness, user-oriented interiors of the school involved adapting the existing building conditions to create inviting public entry and reception areas while cultivating calm, soothing learning environments. The new space will enhance Eyas Landing’s commitment to offering the highest possible standard of care so that clients can thrive and meet their goals while allowing therapists to collaborate across disciplines and with client families to create an ideal treatment plan.