Health Care Design Winners Incorporate Outdoor Spaces
PITTSBURGH — On Oct. 27, Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries announced in a press statement that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) was honoring two hospital buildings as 2015 Healthcare Design Award winners after incorporating specialized glass and coatings in their designs.
The Bridgepoint Active Healthcare center located in Toronto, Canada, was the winner in the category of Built Project Over $25 Million in Construction Cost. The Bridgepoint Active Healthcare facility was cited by the AIA for the abundance of natural light and its expansive views. The design of the center gives architectural expression to the salutogenic approach to health care, which is an approach that works to connect a person’s sense of physical an emotional wellbeing by providing access to nature and an abundance of natural light, according to Canadian Architect. Metal panels finished with DURANAR SUNSTORM aged-zinc coatings and shadowbox spandrels painted with DURACROW china white coatings from PPG Glass gave dimension to the exterior design of the building while allowing patients to feel connected to the outdoors, according to a press release from PPG Industries. “The distinction between public and private space has been deliberately blurred to support community engagement and patient access to nature,” Greg Colucci, principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects said in the Canadian Architect.
Stantec Architecture and KPMB Architects acted as the planning, design and compliance architects and HDR Architecture and Diamond Schmitt Architects were the design, build, finance and maintain consortium for the design. The facility is LEED Silver certified and has received a Design Excellence Award from the Ontario Architects Association and a Heritage Canada Adaptive Reuse Award.
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Center in Spokane, Wash. was also given the 2015 Healthcare Design Award from AIA in the category of Built Project Under $25 Million in Construction Cost. The new 28,000-square-foot pediatric emergency department created 18 new exam rooms, a central care team zone for physicians, nurses, and mid-level providers in close proximity to patient care areas, according to Healthcare Design Magazine. The design included creating calming environments for young patients who were in traumatic circumstances. Clinical and public spaces employ graphics, art, comfortable furnishings and inspirational displays. The new design features a light-filled atrium with wood and warm colors to welcome visitors. In a statement from the AIA, it was said that the building is child-friendly without being childish. The design offers expansive walls made of glass for families to view the neighborhood around them, which the AIA said is a welcome diversion. The glass wall was designed with SOLARBAN 60 glass to provide the open views of the surrounding city and used Solarban 70XL for the skylights in the atrium.
The architect on the project was Mahlum Architects. The firm worked with Bouten Construction Co. as the general contractor, Coffman Engineers as the structural and electrical engineer, DCI Engineers as the civil engineer and MW Consulting Engineers as the mechanical engineer.
This article was originally published on HealthCare Construction + Operations News.