The American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health has selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The AIA Healthcare Awards program showcases the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research.
Projects exhibit conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital.
Recipients were selected in four different categories:
Category A: Built, Less than $25 million in construction cost
Category B: Built, More than $25 million in construction cost
Category C: Unbuilt, Must be commissioned for compensation by a client with the authority and intention to build
Category D: Innovations in Planning and Design Research, Built and Unbuilt
Jurors for the 2014 National Healthcare Design Awards include: Eric Goodfriend, AIA (Chair), Mahlum; Roger Call, AIA, Herman Miller for Healthcare; Jim Lennon, Lennon Associates; James C. Lord II, AIA, KGA Architecture; Mark Patterson, AIA, SmithGroupJJR; Mark Tortorich, FAIA, Stanford University and Shane Williams, AIA, Array Architects.
Category A
Legacy ER – Allen; Allen, Texas
5G Studio Collaborative
Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO
Legacy ER operates a hybrid program offering urgent and 24/7 state-licensed emergency care services within a freestanding building. Conceptualized as a potent reflection of the organization’s identity, the architecture captured the duality of the emergency medical professionals' character, projecting outwardly the knowledge, skill, precision, and decisiveness necessary for the competent practice of emergency medicine and expressing inwardly the gentle, empathic, and humanistic qualities of the persons beneath the robe, realized simply through montaging sharply folded exterior robe of zinc and softly sculpted interior plastered planes. Points of admission of natural daylight and views create apertures that elucidate intersecting tectonic moments.
Lightwell: Greater Boston Orthodontics; Waltham, Massachusetts
Merge Architects
Photo: John Horner Photography
A hundred-year-old storefront and warehouse on Main Street in Waltham was gutted, creating an open plan orthodontic clinic – including reception and treatment areas flanked by semi-private offices, toothbrushing stations, exam rooms, and a staff coffee area. The double-height treatment space is framed by an 18-foot-tall backlit translucent wall curving down in section to frame and light the open treatment area. CNC-cut plywood ribs skinned with thin polycarbonate panels funnel light from skylights above. The front waiting space is defined by a custom seating area and digital media bar, wool felt applied to walls, a custom light pendant, and bright custom wall graphics to provide wayfinding.
Category B
Lancaster General Health Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute; Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Ballinger
Photo: Peter Aaron / ESTO
The new 100,000 square foot Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute is developed around a progressive model for cancer care and employs an interdisciplinary and patient-centric approach. Focused on regeneration and reconnection to living systems, the building’s radial form derives from an existing elevated, curvilinear arrival / parking court which has become a central courtyard healing garden. The expanded oncology program is arrayed around the garden on two levels. Glazed skins and multiple points of access provide a continuous dialogue between interior and exterior, creating a visually open environment that reduces anxiety and stress for patients and their families.
Mount Sinai Hess Center for Science and Medicine; New York City
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Photo © Eduard Huebrer / Archphoto
Envisioned as a place of discovery and healing, the striking Mount Sinai Hess Center for Science and Medicine is shaped by its translational research mission and urban context. Located in Upper Manhattan, the center places researchers, clinicians, educators, and patients in an integrated environment with state-of-the-art technology. The 420,000 square foot facility is specifically designed to foster multi-disciplinary interaction through a network of formal and informal settings. The primary design objective was to craft a flexible environment that would be inspiring and supportive for employees while gracious and dignified for patients and their families. Inside, natural light and a warm, simple material palette puts cancer patients at ease.
Rush University Medical Center New Hospital Tower; Chicago
Perkins+Will
Photo © James Steinkamp
As part of Rush University Medical Center’s 10-year, $1 billion Campus Transformation Project, Perkins+Will planned and designed a new 840,000 square foot state-of-the-art hospital building. Crowned by a butterfly-shaped bed tower designed to minimize steps between staff and patients, the new hospital is comprised of 304 acute and critical care beds, 72 neonatal intensive care beds, and 10 labor and delivery beds. The emergency department contains one of the country’s few bioterrorism preparedness facilities, and is designed to handle large-scale health emergencies. The hospital is one of the largest in the world to be certified LEED Gold.
Category C
Children’s Hospital of Richmond Pavilion (CHoRP); Richmond, Virginia
HKS, Inc.
Courtesy HKS
At the gateway to the medical campus, the Children’s Hospital of Richmond Pavilion consolidates existing pediatric clinics into a compact vertical urban pavilion. The facility is dedicated to providing comprehensive healthcare for children and adolescents and contains a surgery level, three levels of pediatric clinics, a faculty/research floor, and seven levels of parking. Adjacent to some of the city’s most important civic structures, the design establishes a signature identity that embodies VCU’s objective of becoming the region’s premier pediatric academic medical institution. Drawing inspiration from natural elements that are unique to the City of Richmond, the design is intrinsically tied to its location. Themes of sky, water, and forest bring nature to the heart of this urban campus.
Category D
Cincinnati Children's Family Pet Center; Cincinnati, Ohio
GBBN Architects
Courtesy Cincinnati Children's Hospital
The Family Pet Center expands the hospital’s pet therapy program with a 250-sf pavilion and lawn areas that accommodate patients whether on foot, in a wheelchair or on a stretcher. In this 8’ by 10’ enclosure, kids reunite with their own pets. Positive effects begin with anticipation days in advance, the visit itself, and the lingering effects of memories or storytelling afterwards. Based on research on the healing benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), this pavilion addresses the medical needs of the children and the physical dynamics of pets. Especially for cancer patients, who deal with high levels of stress, pain, and long hospital stays, AAT contributes to recovery by improving the quality of life for patients.
GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center (CTC); Port-au-Prince, Haiti
MASS Design Group
Courtesy CTC
The first permanent facility in Port-au-Prince, the CTC provides an aggressive model for cholera treatment, while creating a healing space that promotes a dignified patient experience. Both the CTC’s layout and placement of amenities optimize staff and patient flow. The design tackles unique site conditions, including the lack of reliable piped water and lack of sewer system connection, by providing off-the-grid services. The roof collects rainwater, which is stored in cisterns, chlorinated, and then used for showers and sinks. The facility also decontaminates waste on-site and is designed to achieve 99.99% removal and inactivation of Cholera vibrio and other pathogenic organisms. The façade blends the use of the most advanced technology, using parametric modeling to optimize apertures for daylighting, ventilation, and privacy, with deploying analog techniques for local fabrication. The CTC will not only establish new standards for cholera treatment, but also new standards for quality construction in Haiti.
The video provides more information.
Building Better Builders from MASS Design Group on Vimeo.
Related Stories
Market Data | Aug 1, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending increases slightly in June
National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending is up 18% over the past 12 months. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.07 trillion in June.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 1, 2023
Top 10 healthcare design projects for 2023
The HKS-designed Allegheny Health Network Wexford (Pa.) Hospital and Flad Architects' Sarasota Memorial Hospital - Venice (Fla.) highlight 10 projects to win 2023 Healthcare Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health.
Office Buildings | Aug 1, 2023
Creating a nurturing environment: The value of a mother’s room in the workplace
Since becoming an architect, Rebecca Martin of Design Collaborative has drawn a mother’s room into numerous projects. But it wasn't until she became a mom that she fully appreciated their importance in the workspace.
Digital Twin | Jul 31, 2023
Creating the foundation for a Digital Twin
Aligning the BIM model with the owner’s asset management system is the crucial first step in creating a Digital Twin. By following these guidelines, organizations can harness the power of Digital Twins to optimize facility management, maintenance planning, and decision-making throughout the building’s lifecycle.
K-12 Schools | Jul 31, 2023
Austin’s new Rosedale School serves students with special needs aged 3 to 22
In Austin, the Rosedale School has opened for students with special needs aged 3 to 22. The new facility features sensory rooms, fully accessible playgrounds and gardens, community meeting spaces, and an on-site clinic. The school serves 100 learners with special needs from across Austin Independent School District (ISD).
MFPRO+ New Projects | Jul 27, 2023
OMA, Beyer Blinder Belle design a pair of sculptural residential towers in Brooklyn
Eagle + West, composed of two sculptural residential towers with complementary shapes, have added 745 rental units to a post-industrial waterfront in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rising from a mixed-use podium on an expansive site, the towers include luxury penthouses on the top floors, numerous market rate rental units, and 30% of units designated for affordable housing.
Affordable Housing | Jul 27, 2023
Houston to soon have 50 new residential units for youth leaving foster care
Houston will soon have 50 new residential units for youth leaving the foster care system and entering adulthood. The Houston Alumni and Youth (HAY) Center has broken ground on its 59,000-sf campus, with completion expected by July 2024. The HAY Center is a nonprofit program of Harris County Resources for Children and Adults and for foster youth ages 14-25 transitioning to adulthood in the Houston community.
Hotel Facilities | Jul 27, 2023
U.S. hotel construction pipeline remains steady with 5,572 projects in the works
The hotel construction pipeline grew incrementally in Q2 2023 as developers and franchise companies push through short-term challenges while envisioning long-term prospects, according to Lodging Econometrics.
Sustainability | Jul 27, 2023
USGBC warns against building energy code preemptions, rollbacks
In a recent editorial, the USGBC cited a growing number of U.S. state legislators who are “aiming to roll back building energy code standards and/or preempt local governments from advancing energy-efficient building codes.”
Resiliency | Jul 27, 2023
'Underground climate change' can damage building foundations, civil infrastructure
A phenomenon known as “underground climate change” can lead to damage of building foundations and civil infrastructure, according to a researcher at Northwestern University. When the ground gets hotter, it can expand and contract, causing foundations to move and sometimes crack.
