HKS Selected for Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie

HKS Inc. will be the architectural firm responsible for the proposed new hospital for Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie in Dallas. One of the primary goals given to the architectural firm is to design a hospital that is both comfortable for patients and easy to navigate for families and staff.

In late 2011, Jay Fox, president, Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie, announced the land purchase for the new hospital at the northeast quadrant of I-35 East and US Highway 287, site of the former St. Gobain glass factory.

“This is the initial step in Baylor’s process for final approval to build the new hospital campus,” says Fox. “We now enter the design phase of the project. HKS will develop detailed renderings of the building and floor plans that are actual construction drawings and will allow us to have an accurate cost on the development project.”

Once these steps are complete, Baylor Waxahachie administration will seek final approval from the Baylor Health Care System board of trustees to build the new hospital campus.

“The firm’s goal is to work with user groups from the current hospital and stakeholders to develop effective care delivery models that provide comfortable, therapeutic environments for patients, loved ones, friends and staff,” said Marc Budaus, AIA, design principal, HKS, Inc. “The hospital will incorporate advanced technology including telemedicine, digital imaging, remote patient monitoring, electronic medical records and computer patient records. Most important, the new facility will be organized within a chassis created to facilitate flexible growth and change in the future – while maintaining a clear patient pathway.” BD+C

We offer the following recommendations in the hope that they will help step up the pace of high-performance building reconstruction in the U.S. and Canada. We consulted many experts for advice, but these recommendations are solely the responsibility of the editors of Building Design+Construction. We welcome your comments. Please send them to Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director: rcassidy@sgcmail.com.