Norman Regional Hospital, Norman, Oklahoma: 2025 Design Showcase Honorable Mention
Seeking to expand and modernize its medical campus, Norman Regional Health System embarked on a master plan to consolidate acute care services at its Norman Regional Hospital campus in Norman, Okla., adding a 96-bed critical care tower, 42-bed emergency department (ED), ambulatory care center, and parking garage.
Meanwhile, the original hospital building, opened in 1949, was renovated and repurposed as Porter Health Village, housing services such as medical oncology and a remodeled education center.
New hospital addition and entrance
The project team, including architecture firm HGA (Minneapolis), which submitted the project to the Design Showcase, sought to foster contextual healing by connecting patients to the natural landscape throughout the building. To help achieve this, the additions are laid out in a cul de sac with a new, landscaped central green space that serves as a single-entry point to the campus.
The unified entrance merges inpatient and outpatient entries into a cohesive arrival point with a light-filled public concourse connecting the old and new structures.
Nature-inspired design strategies
Additionally, the 246,000-square-foot expansion, which opened in July 2024, took inspiration from the natural beauty of its Oklahoma locale as well as existing campus architecture to deliver a cohesive design for the expanded flagship campus.
Echoing the existing building, the new construction utilizes an abstract, angular stone motif—a signature element defining all Norman Regional Health System buildings—and clay brick and glass with reflective glazing as the primary building materials on the exterior to visually unify the campus.
In the lobby, the nature-inspired palette includes vibrant green living plant walls, earthy materials such as stone and wood accents, and complementary hues of green, blue, and purple in the wall treatments in the reception, lobby, and clinical spaces.
For more coverage of Healthcare Design’s 2025 Design Showcase, go here.
Find updates and additional information on the 2025 HCD Conference + Expo here.
Robert McCune is senior editor of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
