Building Community in Lawndale: Tour of Lawndale Christian Health Center

What does it look like when a health center becomes a catalyst for an entire neighborhood?

Join AIA Chicago’s Community Engagement Affinity Group for a guided walkthrough of the Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) on Chicago’s West Side, including its recently opened Family & Senior Health Center, designed by Chicago architecture firm Built-Form. It is a 35,000-square-foot facility with 35 exam rooms supporting family medicine, senior care, optometry, medical education, and residency training.

Participants will see firsthand how LCHC has leveraged architecture and long-term community investment to connect healthcare with wellness, education, housing, and social services. Through this walking tour and open conversation with project stakeholders, attendees will gain key insights into how robust community engagement shapes both the design process and the ongoing programs a building supports. Expect an active, on-site experience focused on the vital relationship between place, health, and community development.

Speakers:

Jonathan Wildt
Chief Operating Officer, Lawndale Christian Health Center

Jonathan joined LCHC in 2010 and holds overall strategic and operational responsibility for programs across the health center. He holds a Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration and Health Policy from the University of Chicago and serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF).

Joseph “Joe” Lesch
Buildings and Construction Director
Lawndale Christian Health Center

Joe received his Master of Architecture from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee in 2004 and has served at LCHC since 2013. He oversees pre-design, conceptualization, budgeting, and real-estate matters for LCHC’s new construction and adaptive reuse projects.

Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze how community-based facility planning integrates healthcare, education, and social services to support broader neighborhood development and public health outcomes.
2. Evaluate architectural design strategies used in ambulatory care environments to accommodate specialized clinical spaces like family medicine, optometry, and residency training.
3. Assess the impact of robust stakeholder engagement and long-term client-led stewardship on the programming and physical execution of healthcare architecture.
4. Examine space-planning methodologies that enhance patient access, operational flow, and the integration of support services in urban health facilities.

For AIA Members: AIA Chicago will report your attendance for continuing education credit directly to AIA national. Please ensure your name matches your AIA membership record and your AIA number is correctly entered at the time of registration to receive proper credit. AIA Members cannot self-report courses for AIA CES credit.

For Non-Members: AIA Chicago does not report attendance for non-members. If you would like to request a certificate for proof of participation, please click here.

For Vendor Education Program Attendees (AIA Member and Non-Member): The hosting Vendor will report your attendance for continuing education credit directly to AIA national. Please ensure your name matches your AIA membership record and your AIA number is correctly entered at the time of registration to receive proper credit. To ensure accuracy, please request a certificate of completion from the Vendor.