U-M opens new tower of Kellogg Eye Center

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

A new research center at the University of Michigan is opening now that the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center Complex has completed the Brehm Tower.

The $132 million facility provides 230,000 square feet that will expand U-M's capacity for eye-care research and education. Researchers will also be working on how eye sight relates to diabetes and other diseases.

That research is becoming more in demand because it primarily affects older segments of the population. The U.S. population, as well as Michigan's, continues to get older as Baby Boomers reach retirement age.

"This population will be growing significantly over the next 15-20 years," says Dr. Paul R. Lichter, professor and chair of the University of Michigan Dept of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and director of the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center. "That population is the one that has glaucoma and other ailments we specialize in."

The Brehm Tower stands at eight stories and overlooks Wall Street next to U-M's medical campus on the near north side of the city. The new building houses seven eye care clinics with new suites for refractive surgery and cosmetic surgery. The upper floors will serve as the home to the Brehm Center for Diabetes Research and laboratories for vision scientists. They will perform research on both ophthalmology and diabetes.

TSA of Massachusetts, the building's architect, incorporated a modern design complete with either large windows or full walls of glass panels on the building's façade. The idea is to introduce more natural light into the building, which is often seen as a sustainable characteristic because the building usually requires less electricity for lighting.

Source: Dr. Paul R. Lichter, professor and chair of the University of Michigan Dept of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and director of the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center
Writer: Jon Zemke