The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) has selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The program showcases the best 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 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 (No projects were selected in this category this year)
Category D: Innovations in Planning and Design Research, Built and Unbuilt
(All images courtesy AIA. Click photos to enlarge. Click project names for more information and images.)
Category A
Photo: Bruce Damonte
Kaiser Permanente, Kraemer Radiation Oncology Center | Anaheim, CA | Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design
The design for this LEED Gold radiation therapy building provides a highly supportive environment for the treatment and care of cancer patients. The challenge was to create an environment that reduces stress for patients and families and provides the best current technological infrastructure. The approach focused on the needs of cancer patients and their treatment schedules, which typically occur five days a week for five to eight consecutive weeks. The design provides a calming experience through the use of natural light, organic forms, outdoor views to nature, soothing interior colors, and an internal “Zen Garden” with a vibrant living wall garden.
Photo: Michael Moran
Planned Parenthood Queens: Diane L. Max Health Center | Queens, New York | Stephen Yablon Architecture
For its first center in Queens, Planned Parenthood sought a facility that provided state-of-the-art care for one of the most diverse communities in the world. Since opening, the facility has ranked in the 99th percentile for patient satisfaction when compared to similar hospitals. The building’s contemporary design contrasts with its brownstone neighbors, establishing itself as a welcoming community institution. The sleek and light-filled interiors are uplifting and easy to navigate, reducing patient stress. A bold color system aids in orientation and livens up the center.
Category B
Photo: Ron Blunt
Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Regional Ambulatory Cancer Center | West Harrison, New York | EwingCole
The efficient layout reduces the cost of healthcare delivery and supports both short- and long-term expansion possibilities at the West Harrison site for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Regional Cancer Center. The challenge for the design team was converting what was a 1950s office building, with dated brick and metal panels and large floor plates, into a modern cancer center. The building not only accomplished LEED Gold status but also implemented healthy-building initiatives, such as specifying PVC-free products for both construction and design.
Photo: Tom Rossiter
The Christ Hospital Joint and Spine Center | Cincinnati | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
The Christ Hospital sought to unify its main campus through a model for integrated, patient-centered joint and spine care. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill worked with patients, medical professionals, and hospital staff to design the new Joint and Spine Center. Inside the hospital, spaces for patients are filled with daylight, outside views are maximized to support well-being, and quiet spaces for family and staff are programmed with comfortable furnishings for conversation and rest. The building is LEED certified. Since opening, the facility has ranked in the 99th percentile for patient satisfaction when compared to similar hospitals.
Photo: Nick Merrick / Hedrich Blessing Photographers
The University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC) at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center | Phoenix | ZGF Architects LLP
The 220,000-sf UACC is intended to deliver care within an evidence-based, multidisciplinary model, using the most modern technologies. The building program includes spaces for radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy and interventional radiology, and exam and procedure rooms, along with a support and wellness center, a clinical pharmacy, and a healing garden. The building was designed to integrate the natural beauty of the landscape and address the needs of the UACC staff and patients for years to come. An exterior shade system and chilled beams greatly contributed to the sustainability of the facility.
Photo: Ben Schneider
University Medical Center New Orleans | New Orleans | NBBJ
University Medical Center provides New Orleans with critical safety-net care in a 1.5 million-sf facility built to withstand natural disasters. Features include inpatient services, cancer care, behavioral health and a Level 1 trauma center. The design promotes holistic healing, from landscaped courtyards to all-private inpatient rooms with natural light and in-suite bathrooms. Wide double-bays and sliding breakout doors enable swift action in treatment zones. Floor-to-ceiling windows in public spaces create transparency and uplifting views, while custom artwork and graphics throughout the hospital to honor New Orleans’ rich heritage. The project is Louisiana’s largest teaching hospital and training facility for physicians, nurses and allied health professionals.
Category D
Photo: Aaron Leitz
Seattle Children's Hospital, South Clinic | Seattle | ZGF Architects LLP
Seattle Children's South Clinic advances the hub-and-spoke model of healthcare that brings outpatient services closer to patients in their communities. It offers more responsive care while reducing demand for acute care services. The clinic was designed with a focus on patient flow so providers can serve patients efficiently.
Located in the Seattle suburb of Federal Way and within a shopping center, the design adapts a former Circuit City store into a 37,000-sf outpatient clinic that houses urgent care, and occupational and physical therapy.
Related Stories
Smart Buildings | Jun 8, 2014
Big Data: How one city took control of its facility assets with data
Over the past few years, Buffalo has developed a cutting-edge facility management program to ensure it's utilizing its facilities and operations as efficiently, effectively, and sustainably as possible.
| Jun 4, 2014
Emerging trends in healthcare development: neighborhood care, mixed-use models on the rise
In urban and even suburban markets, real estate is about the "live, work, play," with close proximity to mass transit and other amenities, like retail stores. Healthcare organizations are following suit.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 22, 2014
Big Data meets data centers – What the coming DCIM boom means to owners and Building Teams
The demand for sophisticated facility monitoring solutions has spurred a new market segment—data center infrastructure management (DCIM)—that is likely to impact the way data center projects are planned, designed, built, and operated.
| May 21, 2014
Evidence-based design practices for the palliative care environment
Palliative care strives to make patients comfortable as they are receiving treatment for a severe illness. As hospitals seek to avoid Affordable Care Act penalties for poor patient satisfaction, many expect this field to grow quickly.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 20, 2014
Using fire-rated glass in exterior applications
Fire-rated glazing and framing assemblies are just as beneficial on building exteriors as they are on the inside. But knowing how to select the correct fire-rated glass for exterior applications can be confusing. SPONSORED CONTENT
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
