A redesign of the Mayo Clinic’s downtown campus in Rochester, Minn., centers around two new clinical high-rise buildings. The two nine-story structures will reach a height of 221 feet, with the potential to expand to 420 feet. Part of a multiyear strategic initiative, the two towers feature a skybridge that horizontally links them with the existing Gonda Building, allowing staff to traverse the site efficiently.
The skybridge is an integral part of a double-height social amenity level that will provide patients and loved ones with space to rest, connect, and recharge. This level will be clearly visible on the building’s façade, making it easy to locate from any part of the campus.
The design creates a new central point of arrival, with the north and south drop-offs converging at a unified main entrance. The existing Gonda Lobby will extend into the new facilities, simplifying wayfinding and creating a welcoming environment from the moment of arrival.
The design creates adjacencies in dynamic care “neighborhoods” that will streamline the patient experience. These community-centered neighborhoods will fuse services around patient needs and specific diseases, creating continuous care environments that will serve as patients’ homes while at the clinic.
Double-height winter gardens will be located at the center of care neighborhoods, uniting them, and providing light-filled spaces with spectacular views of the city. The atriums are both social and functional, providing opportunities for new forms of respite and healing or collaboration and care.
A universal grid along with generous floor-to-floor heights will allow clinical spaces to change over time and respond as healthcare continues to evolve. Care environments will be served behind the scenes by highly flexible technological infrastructure containing mechanical, data, and robotic delivery systems that support pioneering treatments while allowing prioritization of human connections.
Seamless integration of digital capabilities blurs traditional distinctions between inpatient, outpatient, and virtual care to support patients throughout their healthcare journey.
“This is a revolutionary moment for medical care and a complete rethinking of the traditional hospital building as we know it offering maximum flexibility for future needs, while ensuring that the interest of the patient remains at the heart of their healthcare,” says Norman Foster, founder and executive chairman, Foster + Partners. “Our design centers on natural light, views and connections with nature to facilitate new breakthroughs and help deliver the highest level of care with warmth and compassion.”
On the project team:
Owner: Mayo Clinic
Architects: Foster + Partners; CannonDesign
Engineers: CannonDesign is Engineer of Record. Burns and McDonnell is engineer of record for central plant upgrades, site electrical, and thermal utilities.
General Contractor: Gilbane Building Company
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 27, 2020
A hospital addition in Maryland was designed and built in 120 days
Lean practices, and early engagement with the county’s permitting department, moved this project forward quickly.
Building Team | Aug 21, 2020
A healthcare project in Wisconsin benefits from including MEP subs in early design discussions
Prefabrication played a major role in quickening construction.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 13, 2020
New VA care center showcases the agency’s P3 approach to financing healthcare facilities
Clinic programming enhances patient privacy.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 5, 2020
New Shenzhen Children’s Hospital will be covered in sky gardens
B+H Architects is designing the project.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 16, 2020
University of California San Francisco selects HDR and Herzog & de Meuron to design new hospital
The hospital is part of UCSF’s academic medical center.
Coronavirus | Jul 1, 2020
Are hospitals prepared for the next pandemic?
Caught off guard by COVID-19, healthcare systems take stock of the capacity and preparedness.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 16, 2020
New facility in California homes in on behavioral health
This project went the extra mile to comply with the state’s design and construction regulations.
Coronavirus | Jun 12, 2020
BD+C launches 'The Weekly,' a streaming program for the design and construction industry
The first episode, now available on demand, features experts from Robins & Morton, Gensler, and FMI on the current state of the AEC market.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 10, 2020
Istanbul opens biggest base-isolated hospital in the world
Cloud computing allowed complicated design to be completed in less than a year.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 3, 2020
Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit opens in Kentucky
The CICU is part of a larger redesign project for the entire hospital.