A children’s hospital in Seattle and a 5-story regional hospital in southwest Florida took honors this month from the American Institute of Architects’ yearly healthcare design awards.
The AIA awarded 10 projects in the U.S. that are related to the healthcare industry, including clinics and a community center for at-risk youths in addition to hospitals. Architecture firm HKS took two of the awards with eight firms winning the remaining awards.
The 485,500-square-foot expansion of Seattle Children’s Hospital is intended to serve as the facility’s “new front door,” according to ZGF Architects. The hospital and its architects conducted 55 workshops and meetings with hospital employees, families and community members to gather input on what they wanted from the expansion.
“The interiors are playful but not childish, which is difficult to pull off in such an emotionally demanding environment,” an unnamed jury panelist said of the expansion.
The AIA does not identify which jury members make specific comments on award winners.
The jury also cited ZGF’s focus on creating environments that allow for “an easy hospital journey (for children and families) where they can focus on the care instead of the process.”
Flad Architects designed the Venice, Florida, location of Sarasota Memorial Hospital with an eye toward the outdoors.
“A central courtyard across from the main entrances is enlivened by a lit water feature with outdoor seating,” the AIA said.
Construction began in 2018 but was delayed due to the pandemic. The facility opened in fall 2021.
“There is a strong, consistent approach from beginning to end in this project and there’s a certain elegance to be found throughout, even in material selection,” an AIA judge said.
AIA’s panel of six judges considered whether the nominated projects “exhibit conceptual strength that solve aesthetic, civic, urban and social concerns, as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns associated with a healthcare setting.”
Projects must have been completed after Jan. 1, 2018, to have been considered for this year’s awards.
This year’s other healthcare award winners are:
· U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic, Worcester, Massachusetts. Architect: SmithGroup.
· Penn State Health Children’s Hospital at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Architect: Payette.
· Parkland Moody Outpatient Center on Parkland Memorial Hospital campus, Dallas. Architect: HKS.
· OhioHealth Neuroscience Wellness Center, Columbus, Ohio. Architect: Gensler.
· Fora Health substance abuse treatment center, Portland, Oregon. Architect: Holst Architecture.
· Family Tree Clinic office, Minneapolis. Architect: Perkins & Will.
· Howard Brown Health’s Broadway Youth Center, Chicago. Architect: Wheeler Kerns Architects.
· Alleghany Health Network’s Wexford Hospital, Wexford, Pennsylvania. Architect: HKS.