Healthcare Design - August 2019 - 69

Healthcare Design: Tell us about your
process for understanding patient/family experience and solving pain points
via design.
Erin Cooper: At the outset, the healthcare
planning and design team recognized the
visionary nature of the project and determined that a traditional approach to planning would be insufficient. A visionary
process to complement the visionary goals
was needed. The team transformed the way
planning takes place with stakeholders,
engaging with them in multidisciplinary
groups, from surgeons to nurses and caregivers, IT specialists, materials management, central sterile processing, family focus groups, and
everyone in between. Instead of departmental user group meetings and
floor plan reviews, the planning process started with a clean slate. Stakeholders were not asked what types of rooms they needed or how many.
The team began with, "What are your touch points with the patient?" and
"What is needed to be more effective and efficient at treating the patient?"
Before the design team began drawing, we mapped existing flows and
looked for operational improvements for the care team and touch points
for the patient. We analyzed survey data from patients and families to determine how they arrive, when they arrive, and how many family members accompany the patient.
How, specifically, did this approach differ from the norm?
Erin Cooper: What stands out is the dedication and commitment of the
client, which allocated appropriate time prior to and during design to address these issues. We approached the project in parallel tracks: Our design
team was working on design concepts in the background, while we pursued
operational planning and programming. This allowed for a feedback loop
between design and planning. We didn't show floor plans in user meetings
until later in the schematic design process so we could focus on experience.
We led multidisciplinary workshops in which key decisions coalesced
around a pressing need for more and better space and an acknowledgement that the current state is not the way of the future.
Christine Vandover: It was a complex project, with three different design
firms, and an array of consultants working collaboratively to deliver a project with a unified design intent. It was critical to the project's success for us
to bring all consultants on board from the earliest stages. Even an art consultant and graphic design consultant were brought on in the beginning,
which was important to creating a cohesive, well-branded space.
Another unique element was the team's approach to facility tours. Instead of visiting existing healthcare spaces, we challenged ourselves and
the client to learn about the customer experience from those outside the
healthcare industry-from hospitality to food service. We went to a diverse
set of projects, had scorecards that our clients used to give feedback, and
really considered the experience from start to finish. This process gave us
freedom to think outside the box and integrate spaces and amenities that
we might not otherwise have considered.
As the project progressed, we wove architecture, medical planning, and
interiors together through regular and constant communication. We
wanted to function as one firm to create a singularly unique space. From
regular in-person meetings to weekly charrettes, this collaborative spirit
was key to making the project a success.
A standout element of the design is a wood screen integrated in the
building glazing that serves both practical and aesthetic purposes.

A distinctive façade
gives the building
a strong identity on
Manhattan's Upper
East Side.

How did this idea come to fruition?
Henry Cobb: The building occupies the entirety of its site on almost every floor, leaving few
opportunities to shape the building volume.
This circumstance gave rise to two interrelated
goals that inform the design: first, to celebrate
the generosity and accessibility of the building's public spaces; and second, to articulate
the building envelope in such a way as to give
appropriate expression to the mission of the
hospital.
An all-glass façade was suggested by the fact
that the exterior edge of the building is primarily circulation space. The insertion of a wood
screen into the triple-glazed assembly and application of a frit pattern on the inner surface
of the outer pane together give the curtain wall
its distinctive character, achieving richness
and variety in the glazed surface in a form that's
readily constructible and highly sustainable,
without intruding into the usable space of the
interior.
The sole exception to the rule limiting the
depth of the building envelope occurs in the
double-height space between the streetlevel entry and the clinical floors above. In this
space, the glass wall is recessed to create an outdoor porch overlooking the avenue. The generous scale of this porch makes it the single most
important architectural gesture in defining the
character of the [building] as a major institution in its city, while the transparent glass wall
behind reveals the entire interior to the street,
giving the building an exceptionally welcoming
demeanor.
For more on this project, see page 82. 
Jennifer Kovacs Silvis is editor-in-chief of Healthcare
Design. She can be reached at J E N N I F E R .
S I LV I S @ E M E R A L D E X P O . C O M .

MORE ONLINE: To read expanded
Q+As on the Award of Merit-winning
projects, visit HCDmagazine.com.

AUGUST 2019

http://www.HCDmagazine.com

Healthcare Design - August 2019

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