In its 2019 Giants 300 Report, Building Design+Construction ranks Perkins & Will as the fourth largest healthcare sector architecture/architecture engineering (AE) firms. This annual report ranks AEC firms “by discipline and across more than 20 building sectors and specialty services. More than 485 U.S.-based architecture, engineering, and construction firms participated in the 2019 Giants 300 report.”
As we continue our October focus on healthcare environments, we bring to you four inspiring projects by Perkins & Will, which in 2018 generated $148,290,570 in healthcare revenue. in the U.S. and abroad – with descriptions provided by P+W.
First, an active, urban outpatient facility in NYC for NYU Langone Health. Second, a health sports therapy and research complex – a collaboration between a major healthcare provider, an NFL team, and a local school district. Third, the expansion of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, in Beirut, Lebanon. And finally, a Medical Education and Simulation Center for Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar.
NYU Langone 222 East 41st Street. New York, New York
Client: New York University Langone Health
Size: 242,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2019
“When one of New York’s premier academic medical centers looked to build an outpatient facility in midtown Manhattan, their forward-thinking vision was to offer more services in one place where many live and work.”
“This core strategy led to the purchase of a 25-story commercial office building that was prime for repositioning and future space requirements. The needs of a bustling outpatient center sparked our planning and design objectives by emphasizing views to the outside and access to daylight throughout all public spaces and numerous corridors. In addition, the program requirements challenged our team to leverage the introduction of daylight into typically buried interior spaces, such as MRI rooms, laboratories, and operating rooms. We took this one step further by taking full advantage of ample exterior transparency by using views to the outside as the basis for simple and efficient way-finding.
The result is an airy and active outpatient center that supports multispecialty practices and welcomes the community via ease of access.
NYU’s brand identity was a distinct design driver when building visual connections and consistency tying back to NYU’s vast network of care centers. This language highlights engaging visual variety through articulation, rhythm without being fragmentation, a welcoming arrival/procession to those waiting, materials that are light and airy, and a balanced palette and scale.
Multi-phased design and construction has allowed NYU Langone to phase group practices and support functions in the facility. Since the phase 1 opening in 2018, the building has remained fully occupied and operational as subsequent phases commence.”
Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy and Research at The Star. Frisco, Texas
Client: Baylor Scott & White Health
Size: 300,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2018
“Improving Population Health Through Design Convergence. A first-of-its-kind collaboration between a major healthcare provider, an NFL team, and a local school district, the Baylor Scott & White Health Sports Therapy and Research complex needed an architecture that would support a whole new standard of sports medicine and rehabilitation services. It needed a design that would show visitors just how essential physical activity is to individual health, and to that of the entire community – a concept known as ‘population health.’”
“Our approach called for a creative convergence of design typologies – including healthcare, science and technology, sports and recreation, workplace, and branded environments – to create a seamless, ‘one-stop-shopping’ experience for patients seeking care and recovery. Through design convergence, we were able to showcase the link between active lifestyles and well-being: at nearly every turn, the science of athleticism and sports medicine is on display, leaving visitors feeling inspired to get moving for their health.
The nine-story building is broken into two distinct volumes, visually sliced by a soaring plane that cantilevers out to the south. The design emphasizes connectivity to the master plan, and glazed façades allow visibility into the building, as well as views to the outdoor surroundings for a feeling of revitalization and rejuvenation.
Performance on display. From a retractable glass façade that opens to an indoor/outdoor football field to a light-filled strength training room surrounded by glass walls, the new complex puts human health and sports performance on public display. The transparency of the glass that is used throughout the facility showcases the human body in motion, creating a “living brand” experience that celebrates athleticism and physical fitness.
Brand powerhouses. One of the biggest design challenges we faced was honoring the distinct identities of two major North Texas brand players without creating visual chaos. An example of this is seen in the entrance, where visitors are greeted by a sculpture of geometric shapes suspended from the lobby ceiling. Symbolizing fluidity of movement and the building blocks of the physically fit body, the organization of these seemingly disparate shapes appears arbitrary at first – but upon closer examination, they visually coalesce to form the Baylor Scott & White Health logo.
The complex enables visitors to experience the full spectrum of physical performance all in one place – from injury prevention and training to healing and recovery. Strategic adjacencies, such as locating the physical therapy suite within the sports performance center, allow for sharing of equipment and support space. These relationships approach programming and planning in an innovative way and allow for square footage maximization.”
American University of Beirut Medical Center, New Medical Center Expansion. Beirut, Lebanon
Client: American University of Beirut
Size: 836,430 square feet
Completion Date: 2024
“The New Medical Center Expansion project will establish an iconic image of the AUBMC on both the campus and the skyline of Beirut with its unique profile of sunshades. Through thoughtful and intentional design, we enhanced the patient experience with improved site access and circulation; daylighting deep into the lower levels of the building; landscape and views of nature in planters at every patient room, roof gardens on two levels, and reflection garden at the entry.”
“Clear identities for the surgery center, cancer center, and pediatric center are expressed through the architecture as well as through the interior design and colored lighting treatments.
Creating Light Sources. The overall interior design approach was inspired by the phenomenological qualities of light as it filters through trees and gradually shifts in color throughout the day. Colored LED lighting is positioned to spill through gaps between surfaces creating the impression that the building is radiating light from an unseen an internal source.”
Hamad Medical City Medical Education and Simulation Center. Doha, Qatar
Client: Hamad Medical Corporation
Size: 10,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2019
“Heat, Humidity, and Hospitals. A building slated to serve medical school residents, hospital staff recruits, and budding surgeons from around the world needed some major surgery of its own. In fact, when the largest provider of care in Qatar approached us with plans to reuse an existing structure as an education center, the building turned out to be an incomplete and abandoned three-story complex.”
“To repurpose it as a ‘learning on display’ opportunity and highly collaborative facility would push our design thinking as the project came with a few major caveats that proved quite challenging. These requirements included keeping the elevators and stairs in place as well as front-to-back visibility on each floor.
In the end, the biggest structural change involved the removal of a multi-storied portion in the building’s center. This created an open space with the feeling of a ‘souk’ (a regional market) which nicely dovetailed into another requirement: honoring Arabic aesthetics.
Resilience. Doha comes with naturally occurring extreme conditions. Temperatures frequently exceed 100 degrees, humidity tops 50 percent, water resources are extremely limited, and then there are the earthquakes. To help Hamad Medical Center prepare for everything, we outfitted the plaza area with multi-use columns. Not only do they serve as structural supports, they contain medical gasses and electric stations tied to generators. Cover materials can seamlessly attach to the structures as well. This way, the entire plaza can be transformed into a shaded trauma room should events demand it.
Our designers and researchers synchronized their efforts to improve both performance and design. Our researchers evaluated the thermal loads and useful daylight illuminance, and our designers suggested updates to the building skin to improve performance. The end result from this collaboration: improved overall daylighting, reduced overexposure and blocked solar heat gain…allowing the building to keep cool.
Embracing the approach of adaptive reuse with no demolition of the previously designed structure, 90% of all interior walls are factory-made modular partitions. Smartly designed with plug-and-play MEP infrastructure chases, they provide maximum flexibility for future use. High efficiency plumbing fixtures and lighting were incorporated as well. And, to reduce the footprint even further, materials were screened for material health and sourced regionally.”
