Facing you now is the primary adult outpatient clinic serving both UAB Hospital's medical staff and the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. This building carries a name: it honors John W. Kirklin, the pioneering cardiac surgeon noted for bringing the heart–lung machine into practical use in heart surgery. Designed by the noted architect I. M. Pei and opened in July 1992, the Clinic serves as a hub for patient care and learning — it is the site for many clinical rotations in the medical school's doctoral and residency programs.
The facility is owned and operated by the nonprofit University of Alabama Health Services Foundation and stands at 2000 6th Avenue South in Birmingham. More recently, during 2016 and 2017 the Kirklin Clinic underwent a $10 million project to expand its clinical space by 64,000 square feet, a sign of its growing role in the health of the region. Let your attention settle on the façade fronting 6th Avenue South, where the name, the Pei design, the teaching clinics, and that $10 million expansion all live in one building.