Healthcare Design - November 2019 - 66

SINCE JOINING ZGF more than two years

ago, Austin Ferguson has worked on a variety of projects across the country, ranging from clinic renovations to new inpatient bed towers. He's also held several
roles, including project manager, project architect, and medical planner. He
earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture
and a Master of Architecture + Health
from Clemson University.

HEALTHCARE
DREW

YOU

DESIGN:

W H AT

CAREER

HEALTHCARE DESIGN?

Austin Ferguson
AIA, EDAC, associate,
ZGF Architects LLP
(New York)

Ferguson: My father's battle with colon
cancer and subsequent passing ultimately led me to healthcare design. I spent
extended periods of time in hospitals
and clinics around the country during his
treatment. After his death, I had a natural
aversion to hospitals and clinics. As an
undergraduate student, I took a class with
Clemson's Architecture + Health graduate program, which sparked an interest in
how design impacts the experience of patients and visitors in healthcare settings. I
was quickly fascinated by the empathetic
desire that drives architects to improve
healthcare environments, the technical complexity of planning facilities, and
ways to successfully integrate continuously evolving healthcare technology.

University Health System,
Women's and Children's
Tower and Associated
Projects, San Antonio

W H AT D O Y O U T H I N K I S T H E
N U M B E R O N E I S S U E FA C I N G T H E
HEALTHCARE DESIGN INDUSTRY IN
2019?

The flexibility and adaptability of healthcare
spaces is becoming a significant focus for institutions as they try to get the most return on investment in light of the rise in construction and
healthcare costs. It has also been evident working in New York City-as well as other cities
where space is a limited commodity-that institutions greatly benefit by being able to flex a
space between multiple uses. This has become a
challenge as minimum space sizes and clearances required by FGI continue to increase. Beyond
the hands-on clinical spaces, provider and caregiver workspace is also at a premium in most
projects, as growing interdisciplinary teams are
involved with treating patients.

W H AT ' S O N E R E C E N T P R O J E C T
YOU'RE

MOST

W H A T ' S O N E I D E A Y O U H AV E F O R

PROUD

O V E R C O M I N G T H AT P R O B L E M ?

OF?

Designers and institutions can address issues of
flexibility and utilization by comprehensively
analyzing current and anticipated future operations and space requirements. Institutions
are beginning to implement universal patient
rooms that can serve any level of acuity, which
also responds to the expected increase of acuity
for future patients. Another example is the size
of operating rooms: With a standardized module, ORs can accommodate both inpatient and
the growing number of outpatient procedures.
Room infrastructure also can be designed to
more easily expand rooms and integrate emerging technologies.
Additionally, institutions are starting to explore demountable and reusable product systems and materials that have the potential to reduce cost and time as they convert or renovate
space in the future. However, architects must
critically review and assist owners in identifying the correct assemblies for potential flexibility that meet all the requirements for budget,
performance, and lifecycle.

I'm most proud of the work I contributed to the University Health System,
Women's and Children's Tower in San
Antonio. The project includes a 14-story, 672,600-square-foot expansion and
renovation that will house the hospital's
pediatric and women's services. My role
focused on planning a universal patient
floor and women's center. The scale and
complexity of the project taught me several lessons, including the importance of
consistent collaboration with team members located in other offices. This created
a team dynamic that supported in-depth
review and discussion of all planning iterations and considerations in order to provide the most effective layout. The process
also encouraged me to explore different
design mediums and find the perfect combination of programs to quickly iterate
multiple layouts; the resulting technique
has been instrumental in effectively executing work on subsequent projects.

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Healthcare Design - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - November 2019