Healthcare Design - March 2018 - 27

P R O J E C T D E TA I L S

Project name: Chihuly Sanctuary, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer
Center
Completion date: May 2017
Owner: University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine
Total building area: 3,667 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: N/A
Cost/sq. ft.: N/A
Architecture: HDR
Interior design: HDR
Contracting: Kiewit
Engineering: HDR
Construction: Kiewit
Art: Dale Chihuly, Chihuly Studios

Carpet/flooring: Oregon Lumber Co., Zongkers Custom Furniture
and Cabinetry, Ceramiche Caesar, RBC Tile & Stone, Commercial Flooring
Systems, Interface, Construction Specialties
Ceiling/wall systems and finishes: Fellert (ceilings), PPG
Architectural Coating (paint), Armourcoat (Venetian plaster), Zongkers
Custom Furniture and Cabinetry (custom wood panel cladding)
Furniture-seating/casegoods: Zongkers Custom Furniture and
Cabinetry (custom wood benches), Forms & Surfaces (site furnishings)
Handrails/wall guards: Zongkers Custom Furniture and Cabinetry
Roof deck sidewalks: Daedalus Construction Co.
Understory planting/ground cover: Lanoha Nurseries

a wheelchair or hospital bed. A neutral palette of furnishings and finishes
provides an unobtrusive backdrop to the more vibrant colors and forms.
Ten installations are on view both inside and outside, including a series
of "Sunrise Persian Columns" in spaces overlooking the healing garden. A
main attraction is an interior "Fiori" garden from Chihuly's "Mille Fiori"
series, which translates to "1,000 flowers" in Italian. An exterior rooftop
"Mille Fiori" composition captures a sapphire "Icicle Tower," multiple amethyst and cassel yellow "Fiori," and large glass "Niijima Floats."
Inspired by the idea of the sanctuary, Chihuly also created a new series,
"Ikebana Glass-on-Glass" paintings that feature pictures of Japanese
ikebana-style flower arrangements painted on three sheets of glass with
enamel. The multi-paned artwork, on display in the drawing room, plays
with light and density to highlight deep saturated color and detail and is
illuminated by LEDs.
Chihuly selected two of his favorite colors to accent the sanctuary, with
the roof line defined in a bright chartreuse inspired by the edge wraps from
his "Macchia" series, while the exterior of the cone piece features a warm
yellow tone. These defining colors of the Chihuly Sanctuary can be seen
from many vantage points within the cancer center, signifying to everyone
that there's something unique and special here-a place where art and architecture have come together to help make a difference in the lives of patients, researchers, and caregivers. 

The transparent space
allows visitors to enjoy
interior and exterior art
installations simultaneously. Shown here are
the colorful garden
elements of the "Mille
Fiori" inside, with
a view to the glass
"Niijima Floats" in the
rooftop garden.

Bruce Carpenter, AIA, is a senior vice president and principal-in-charge at HDR
(Omaha, Neb.). He can be reached at B R U C E . C A R P E N T E R @ H D R I N C . C O M .

MARCH 2018

Healthcare Design - March 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - March 2018