Och Spine At NewYork-Presbyterian/The Spiral, New York: 2025 Design Showcase Award of Merit
Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Spiral in New York integrates three top medical institutions—NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Weill Cornell Medicine—into a one-stop destination for outpatient spinal care and procedures.
Submitted to the Design Showcase by Array Architects (Philadelphia), the project, which is situated on the second floor of an existing building in Hudson Yards, prioritizes giving each entity its own identity and operational culture within a cohesive healing environment that showcases sophisticated aesthetics, convenience, and operational efficiency for patients, families, and staff.
Drawing inspiration from the spine’s natural flow and human movement, the 55,000-square-foot facility is designed to support a seamless patient journey, from the illuminated, transparent entryway that establishes a clear and calming presence at street level through to the exam rooms designed to balance patient comfort and leading technologies.
In this Q+A, Melissa Van Slett, engagement manager, and Nicole Wood, lead interior designer, at Array Architects, discuss setting a new benchmark for care environments in an urban setting.
Healthcare Design: How does this project bring together three organizations in a cohesive design identity?
Nicole Wood: Integrating three of the nation’s top medical institutions—each with its own identity and operational culture—was a formidable challenge. Our approach centered on honoring each brand’s legacy while creating a unified patient experience under the Och Spine identity.
Visually, this was accomplished through decentralized check-in desks, each branded with the respective institution’s logo and strategically placed along the main corridor. This ensured equal visibility and allowed patients to check in where they would receive care.
The design language throughout the facility features natural materials including wood baffles, earthy tones, and warm textures, creating a cohesive aesthetic that communicates excellence and human-centered care. The result is a space that feels elegant, contemporary, and uniquely unified, while still allowing each institution to shine.
HCD: Discuss how you address existing building conditions on this project.
Melissa Van Slett: The centralized building core posed an initial challenge and risked fragmenting flow and limiting visibility. Rather than viewing it as a constraint, the project team embraced it as a defining organizational feature. Circulation paths were designed to wrap around the core, creating a continuous loop that mirrors the curvature of the spine—an intentional nod to the facility’s clinical focus. By shifting key public spaces like waiting areas to the perimeter, we draw visitors’ attention outward, maximizing access to daylight and city views while softening the block’s spatial impact.
Because the floor plate was originally designed for office use rather than healthcare, early and intensive coordination with the base building team and construction manager was critical. Through proactive clash detection and detailed modeling, we ensured that infrastructure could be integrated without compromising the design intent.
Interestingly, the centralized core also eliminated the need for interior columns. This flexibility enabled us to tailor a program that meets clinical and experiential goals—optimizing adjacencies for exam, imaging, and surgical spaces while maximizing daylight and access to respite areas for staff and patients alike.
HCD: How did you prioritize family and staff spaces here?
Wood: Our guiding principle was that healing doesn’t just involve the patient; it includes their support system and care team.
For families, decentralized waiting areas located along the building’s periphery allow freedom of movement, quiet reflection, and connection to the outdoors through expansive windows with views of Hudson Yards. These spaces include hydration stations, varied seating, and art, creating a calming environment that reduces the emotional strain of waiting.
For staff, we prioritized respite and decompression. Dedicated wellness spaces, such as lounges with river views, locker rooms, and relaxation zones, help caregivers recharge, reflecting the project team’s belief that caring for staff directly supports better care for patients. This dual commitment to families and staff enhances satisfaction, wellness, and retention.
HCD: How were exam rooms designed for comfort, accessibility, and future flexibility?
Van Slett: Each exam room was thoughtfully designed to embody these vital characteristics. Wide, open layouts accommodate mobility devices and foster inclusion, while integrated seating is oriented to promote shared dialogue among patients, caregivers, and care teams in a welcoming, hospitality-inspired environment. These rooms are tailored to support a full spectrum of spine care—from routine consults to complex, team-based treatment planning—and adapt seamlessly to the needs of both pediatric and adult patients.
Technology is fully integrated, with screens positioned at seated eye level to promote direct eye contact and enable virtual collaboration with global specialists—a purposeful nod to the hybrid, innovation-driven model of care at the heart of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Spiral.
Materiality also plays a vital role in setting the tone. Natural wood finishes and soft lighting echo the overall aesthetic of the facility, creating a calm, non-institutional environment that puts patients at ease.
These rooms are not only universally accessible and operationally efficient, they’re also future-ready, with embedded infrastructure to support evolving care models, from telemedicine to interdisciplinary team planning.
HCD: Jurors praised the interior design as “elegant” and unlike typical healthcare. How did you achieve that?
Wood: The aesthetic was deliberately crafted to defy expectations of what a healthcare environment should feel like. Drawing inspiration from the fluidity of the spine, we used organic curves, natural materials, and soft earth tones to evoke comfort and sophistication.
Key features such as wood baffles on ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass, and custom lighting were chosen for their ability to bring warmth and human scale to the space.
Lighting was designed to support circadian rhythms, reduce stress, and create a sense of orientation and calm. The result is a setting that elevates care through design, offering a sensory experience that feels more like a luxury hotel or cultural institution than a medical clinic.
HCD: What lessons about integrating healthcare into a dense, urban setting did you learn?
Van Slett: Locating Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Spiral on the second floor of a high-rise in Hudson Yards challenged us to rethink healthcare’s interface with the city.
The solution was a transparent, illuminated street-level entrance that communicates dignity, clarity, and accessibility and serves as a strong visual anchor that draws patients from the busy streetscape into a calm, ordered environment.
Realizing this vision required a highly collaborative process. Working closely with the base building team, we integrated their signature aesthetic while pushing the envelope to meet the unique spatial and experiential demands of a healthcare setting. It was a process defined by fluid thinking, creative problem-solving, and the ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders.
Inside, perimeter-based planning, abundant glazing, and a clear circulation loop help patients orient themselves and stay connected to the outside world – subtly reinforcing transparency and trust.
The project demonstrates that high-performing specialty care can thrive in vertical, mixed-use urban environments when design prioritizes intuitive navigation, hospitality, and emotional ease from the very first point of entry.
For more coverage of Healthcare Design’s 2025 Design Showcase, go here.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
