Last summer, Building Trust International, a Brighton, England-based nonprofit that uses design to address global issues, was constructing a new medical dispensary for a rapidly growing diabetic population in Siem Reap, Cambodia—a project that inspired its leaders to see mobile health clinics as a way to improve access to care for some of the most densely populated and poorest parts of the planet.
Healthcare organizations are demanding more information and data in the pre-design stages of projects.
While architects and designers have an array of tools at their disposal to help provide that information in a timely manner, Vincent Della Donna, director of healthcare services, Gannett Fleming Architects and Engineers (Camp Hill, Pa.), says there’s one he’d like to see more people using: simulation modeling.
The Toronto Birth Centre is a pilot project that emerged from a recent initiative to shift non-acute health services out of the hospital setting and into community-based healthcare centers.
In Ontario, more than three-quarters of women cared for by midwives have hospital births, while the rest choose to deliver at home. The midwife-run Toronto Birth Centre was created to offer a third option for woman with low-risk pregnancies who want a natural, out-of-hospital childbirth.
Eye Physicians of Austin had been in its current location in central Austin, Texas, for more than 35 years and had outgrown the space. Rather than relocating, the team decided to build a contemporary facility on its existing property.
The new pedestrian-oriented structure would be located along the street, housing the ophthalmology practice on the second floor and retail and restaurant space on the glass-encased ground level.
Completion date: May 2013
Total building area: 75,600 sq. ft. conditioned space; 6,500 sq. ft. mechanical penthouse
Total construction cost: $28.8 million
Cost/sq. ft.: $350
Owner: Seton Healthcare Family
Architecture: Polkinghorn Group Architects Inc.
Landscape architect: TBG Partners
Interior design: Obrentz Design Group
Contracting: The Beck Group
Civil Engineer: Bury
Structural: Datum Engineers Inc.
MEP Engineer: CCRD Partners
Commissioning agent: ACR Engineering
In 2007, Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas opened what would earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) first LEED Platinum certification under the rating system’s new construction category.
Earlier this year I wrote about the evolution of waiting rooms and how these spaces have gone from simply a room with rows of chairs to warm, comfortable environments that are as important to patient and family satisfaction as they are to branding.
OR 360, a project conducted jointly by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the U.S. military, aims to streamline and improve trauma care in the crucial first hour of emergency medical treatment by reconfiguring the surgical suite.
“Pretty bold, isn’t it,” says Jim May, executive vice president and COO, Catholic Health Partners, talking about the colorful tile exterior adorning the new Mercy Health West hospital on the west side of Cincinnati.
Given the nature of today’s healthcare industry, there’s a greater prevalence of renovation and expansion projects than new construction. As a result, project teams are often upgrading active facilities with patients on-site.
Working around sensitive populations, construction teams must be able to read, analyze, and react to shifting elements in the air so that hospital staff and patients can continue to give and receive care in a safe and controlled environment.
Rather than cater to a specific demographic or region, Embryo Clinic IVF unit in Thessaloniki, Greece, focuses on translating its medical expertise into a space where patients will feel at ease throughout a complex process.
“We decided to apply design principles to certain behavioral aspects that are universal and could appeal to people from different cultures and countries,” says Panos Voulgaris, creative director/partner at MALVI (Thessaloniki).
Located at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint is a comprehensive orthopedic center aimed at attracting patients beyond its borders.
