Design Excellence Awards
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Healthcare Honorable Mention
Presented to HKS
Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Phoenix, Arizona
Project Description
The new Phoenix Children’s Hospital tower is a 12 story, free standing addition to an existing hospital. The goals for the project was to improve upon the existing hospital design, create a new campus image that is bold and unique, and improve the current wayfinding.
With these goals in mind, the team crafted a design concept. "A welcoming oasis in the desert providing shade and healing while emulating the natural beauty of the mountains and desert." Every color, finish, piece of artwork, design idea and material was considered against this concept.
The interior finishes were selected to provide a warm and neutral envelope for the spaces while the eight-accent-color palette highlighted and provided interest throughout the building. Each floor and each clinic have their own distinctive four-color palette, (taken from the original 8 accent colors) as well as its own desert animal, desert botanical, level number and view to the outside for orientation. To aid in wayfinding, each floor was given its own identity and personality.
The nurse stations were decentralized and a glass enclosed teaming room was provided for nurse collaboration. The glass enclosure aided in collaboration, acoustics and provided clear sight lines to the patient. However, a glass room with visible clutter was the view from the patient room and corridor. The solution was to treat the glass teaming room in a botanical bus graphic. The teaming center provided the nurses with a clear sightline to the patients, and in return, the patients and families enjoyed views of a large desert flower graphic on the glass. The patients and families were told, "When you need help, look for the large flowers."
The tower was carefully crafted to respond to the Phoenix sun. The building was modeled with computer simulated sun diagrams to maximize daylight harvesting and minimize heat gain. The patient rooms face north and south which enables the light to filter softly into them. The building is designed to respond to the sun which reaches the east and west faces of the building. Shaded outdoor courtyards are available for families to relax and distress.
Judges Comments
- Great color and contrast.
- Love the use of LED lighting,
- FUN project, ahead of the curve.