Photo: Foster + Partners
When the Health Education Campus, a joint venture between Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic, opened in 2019, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, MD, said: “Its unique curricula and design will inspire healthcare professionals to be members of interdisciplinary teams and promote lifelong learning.” The centerpiece of the campus is the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion (seen here), a 477,000-square-foot temple of learning designed by the architectural firm Foster + Partners and named in recognition of a gift from longtime Cleveland Clinic benefactors Sheila and Eric Samson. It’s typically a place of study for more than 2,000 medical, nursing and dental students, although the Samson Pavilion has proven to be nothing if not versatile. In the spring of 2020, it was swiftly transformed into a temporary COVID-19 surge hospital (which, thankfully, was not needed). Six months later, the building served as the venue for the first presidential debate of the 2020 election.