Anne DiNardo

Anyone who’s been through the construction process has heard the words “moisture mitigation.” While it’s not new, concern over the issue has grown over the last 10 years.

One reason is condensed construction timelines, which mean most projects are fast-tracked, leaving less time for concrete slabs to dry. This leaves slab moisture levels (relative humidity or RH levels) at unsuitable levels for flooring installations to perform. However, these levels must be met in order to maintain a manufacturer’s warranty.

As hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and specialty clinics continue to transition to more hospitality-like settings, the flooring specified for those facilities is going in a new direction, too. Issues about cost, infection control, and maintenance are still top-of-mind, but joining the discussion is an emphasis on aesthetics, comfort, and the role of flooring in wayfinding.

As a landmark for a new community, the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel campus is the latest addition in the provider’s Tampa Bay division. Partnering with HuntonBrady Architects (Orlando), the staff and design team created design directives for the $81 million project, such as recognize the location, enhance time optimization, and provide a fresh approach to architecture.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) of Medical Research is Australia’s oldest medical research facility. The institute’s location in Melbourne, Australia, is among the world’s most concentrated medical science precincts and includes the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Commonwealth Serium Laboratories, and Royal Children’s Hospital. Also nearby are The University of Melbourne and Monash University’s Facility of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The scope

It’s estimated that more than one billion people will take part in this week’s annual Earth Day celebration. Launched in 1970 and celebrated every year on April 22, a lot has changed in Earth Day’s four-plus decades of influence. Individually, we’ll seek out products that are sustainable or green, we don’t think twice about placing pop cans and old newspapers into a green bin, and biking or commuting to work is not such a far-out idea (especially considering the ever-rising cost of gas).

Jean Hansen is on a mission to green healthcare interiors. “Years ago, I started realizing that the products we specify have chemicals of concern in them that could affect our health,” she says. “I began asking manufacturers what goes into their products and then looking for safer products.”

Oftentimes interior designers, architects, and facility owners don’t fully understand the expertise and creativity that the field of environmental graphic design (EGD), an intersection of communication design and the built environment, can bring to a project.

In this series, Healthcare Design magazine asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Andy Keller carries the unofficial title of “wayfinding missionary.” As president of Cincinnati-based Keller Studio Inc., Keller’s worked on a number of pediatric interiors, including Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and he believes that what you put under your feet is just as important as what you hang on the walls or sit on.

In this series, Healthcare Design magazine asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject. This week’s Top Five list comes from Joe Sprague, director of health facilities, principal, and senior vice president at HKS Inc.

In this new series, Healthcare Design magazine asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Here, AECOM’s Sheila Cahnman, vice president, healthcare market sector leader, Christy Devens, interior project designer, and Mark Reckin, senior medical planner, open up about healthcare for millennials, branding and more.