The realization of a masterplan created in the early 2000s, this new HCA facility consolidates all pediatric facilities currently located throughout the existing campus. The building’s playful, whimsical design distinguishes it from the adjacent adult hospital and also provides shell space for future expansion.
A new large, wavy entrance canopy is a campus focal point and delineates two separate drop-off points for hospital and ED patients. The two-story lobby offers centralized wayfinding, enabling patients to easily access registration, express care, the emergency department, radiology, surgery and the patient units located directly above. The south-facing curtain wall allows light to penetrate the first and second floor lobby and waiting areas. Three conical skylights illuminate both the lobby and the pedestrian connector between the Children’s Hospital and the South Tower with colored lights. When illuminated by the sun, exterior ceramic fritted colored glass fins also bring color into patient rooms.
Pediatric inpatient units are configured in a racetrack design, with patient rooms located on the perimeter surrounding a central core of centralized and decentralized nursing stations. This hybrid design helps to reduce travel distances, places priority on support spaces and enables nurses to feel more comfortable spending one-on-one time with patients away from the nurse’s station. Large patient rooms with family spaces incorporate glass windows to maximize visibility, with curtains and integral blinds for privacy.
Photos: © Attic Fire Photography; © Chad Mellon
