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
Retail Centers | Jun 2, 2023
David Adjaye-designed mass timber structure will be a business incubator for D.C.-area entrepreneurs
Construction was recently completed on The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak, a 22,000-sf building that will serve as a business incubator for entrepreneurs, including emerging black businesses, in Washington, D.C. The facility, designed by Sir David Adjaye, the architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is expected to attract retail and food concepts that originated in the community.
Mixed-Use | Jun 1, 2023
The Moore Building, a 16-story office and retail development, opens in Nashville’s Music Row district
Named after Elvis Presley’s onetime guitarist, The Moore Building, a 16-story office building with ground-floor retail space, has opened in Nashville’s Music Row district. Developed by Portman and Creed Investment Company and designed by Gresham Smith, The Moore Building offers 236,000 sf of office space and 8,500 sf of ground-floor retail.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 1, 2023
High-rise cancer center delivers new model for oncology care
Atlanta’s 17-story Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown features two-story communities that organize cancer care into one-stop destinations. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and May Architecture, the facility includes comprehensive oncology facilities—including inpatient beds, surgical capacity, infusion treatment, outpatient clinics, diagnostic imaging, linear accelerators, and areas for wellness, rehabilitation, and clinical research.
K-12 Schools | May 30, 2023
K-12 school sector trends for 2023
Budgeting and political pressures aside, the K-12 school building sector continues to evolve. Security remains a primary objective, as does offering students more varied career options.
Multifamily Housing | May 30, 2023
Boston’s new stretch code requires new multifamily structures to meet Passive House building requirements
Phius certifications are expected to become more common as states and cities boost green building standards. The City of Boston recently adopted Massachusetts’s so-called opt-in building code, a set of sustainability standards that goes beyond the standard state code.
Architects | May 30, 2023
LRK opens office in Orlando to grow its presence in Florida
LRK, a nationally recognized architectural, planning, and interior design firm, has opened its new office in downtown Orlando, Fla.
Urban Planning | May 25, 2023
4 considerations for increasing biodiversity in construction projects
As climate change is linked with biodiversity depletion, fostering biodiverse landscapes during construction can create benefits beyond the immediate surroundings of the project.
K-12 Schools | May 25, 2023
From net zero to net positive in K-12 schools
Perkins Eastman’s pursuit of healthy, net positive schools goes beyond environmental health; it targets all who work, teach, and learn inside them.
Contractors | May 24, 2023
The average U.S. contractor has 8.9 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of April 2023
Contractor backlogs climbed slightly in April, from a seven-month low the previous month, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
Mass Timber | May 23, 2023
Luxury farm resort uses CLT framing and geothermal system to boost sustainability
Construction was recently completed on a 325-acre luxury farm resort in Franklin, Tenn., that is dedicated to agricultural innovation and sustainable, productive land use. With sustainability a key goal, The Inn and Spa at Southall was built with cross-laminated and heavy timber, and a geothermal variant refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system.
