Winning Touch In Healthcare Clinic Design
Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers
Lighting fixtures extend across the corridor ceiling and down the wall to establish wayfinding by highlighting the entry into patient rooms.
Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers
Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows in patient rooms emphasize the scenic views outside, while dramatic black framing adds contrast.
Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers
A playful assortment of pendants juxtapose with plush carpet, sleek modern furniture, and warm wooden walls to create a luxurious interior.
Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers
To differentiate the hospital from other buildings in the business park, the designers developed a covered colonnade around the recessed first floor to emphasize the entrances, creating a hotel-inspired arrival sequence.
Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers
Textured partition walls in the waiting areas provide both privacy and visual texture, without blocking views of the serene landscape. Above the faux leather couches, brass fixtures light hand-drawn linework from a local tattoo artist.
With a vision to create a national and global destination for orthopedic and musculoskeletal care, Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center in Akron, Ohio, pulled design inspiration from hospitality environments to create a concierge-like patient experience.
The effort earned the 167,500-square-foot project Best of Competition in the 2022 IIDA Healthcare Design Awards program. “We wanted to design a facility that feels less like a hospital, with design elements that truly differentiate Crystal Clinic from other hospital systems,” says Daniel J. Ferry, president and CEO at Crystal Clinic.
Opened in November 2021, Crystal Clinic partnered with HGA (Milwaukee) to bring this vision to life by embracing the contemporary design of an upscale hotel for the three-story facility. It houses 12 operating rooms; 60 private patient rooms; and a QuickCare facility to provide immediate, specialized walk-in urgent care for sports and orthopedic injuries.
Interior spaces are designed to be calming with sophisticated finishes, such as patterned privacy screens and a variety of seating options, to support the healing process. Large floor-to-ceiling windows provide plenty of natural light while showcasing the surrounding scenic landscape.
On the third floor, patient rooms arranged on the perimeter of the building overlook the tree-lined grounds, while interior rooms look out on a central courtyard featuring a roof garden. Designers framed those views to exterior natural elements with contrasting black soffits and window mullions throughout the building to make those scenes pop.
“Black is an unconventional color for healthcare, but we thought it was appropriate here to create a dramatic backdrop,” says Amanda Pirlot, associate vice president of interior design at HGA.
To meet hospital performance requirements without making the aesthetic feel sterile, the project team chose a palette of wood, faux leather furniture, mirrored glass, and brass lighting fixtures that support the hospitality vibe while satisfying rigorous cleaning regimens.
Furthermore, Jes Skaug, associate vice president and senior project designer at HGA, says the materials palette brings “a textural uniqueness that you don’t normally see in a hospital.”
Adding to the upscale environment, Crystal Clinic also exhibits work from local artists to create a deeper connection to the community. One of the physicians even donated dozens of his nature photography prints, which are showcased throughout patient rooms and staff corridors, balanced by abstract displays from other local artists.
These unique details throughout the facility received rave reviews from IIDA judges.
“While this year’s submissions were highly impressive, the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center stood out as an exceptional example of thoughtful, patient-forward space planning,” Kelley Dorsett, senior vice president and interior design director at AECOM, said in a release on behalf of the jury.
2022 IIDA Healthcare Design Awards category winners:
Ambulatory — Cancer Center
Project: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Chestnut Hill, Newton, Mass.
Design firm: Payette, Boston
Ambulatory — Pediatric
Project: Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, Seattle
Design firm: NBBJ, Seattle
Ambulatory — Specialty Clinic
Project: Bill Richards Center for Healing, Rockville, Md.
Design firm: Gensler, Washington, D.C.
Project: Institute for Specialized Medicine
& Intervention, Kirkland, Canada
Design firm: HOK, Toronto
Extended Care & Assisted Living Facilities — Hospice/Palliative Care
Project: Taikang Community Shen Garden Shenyang, Shenyang City, China
Design firm: Interscape Design Associates, Shanghai City, China
Hospitals — Community
Project: Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center, Akron, Ohio
Design firm: HGA, Milwaukee
Hospitals — Pediatric
Project: Seattle Children’s, Building Care: Diagnostic and Treatment Facility, Seattle
Design firm: ZGF Architects, Seattle
Project: Bill Richards Center for Healing, Rockville, Md.
Design firm: Gensler, Washington, D.C.
Brooke Bilyj is a freelance writer.
For more on the 2022 IIDA Healthcare Design Awards program and winners, visit iida.org.
