Instead of conventional lab blocks and large lecture halls, Stritch is organized into learning clusters that support independent and small group study. Labs and lecture halls are also included, but the broad pedagogical emphasis is to encourage students to learn from one another. The building is organized around a three-story atrium that functions like a miniature town square. The medical school proper begins on the second floor, where two identical wings contain learning clusters, examination rooms and small classrooms, similar to the case-method classrooms in many business and law schools.
Large windows bring natural light into offices and corridors.
Stritch is intended as an expression of Loyola's commitment to innovative medical education. Its design departs dramatically from the stern, hard-edged style of much of the campus. The combination of metal, glass and variegated precast concrete panels in shades of grey creates a dynamic interplay of forms and textures. A sleek metal canopy marks the building's main entrance, and a gentle curve, expressive of the lecture halls within, offers an effective counterpoint to the rectilinear geometry of the rest of the building. .