Architecture firm Perkins+Will and national design engineering firm M+NLB were recently named co-winners of Kaiser Permanente’s first-ever global, year-long healthcare design competition, ‘Small Hospital, Big Idea.’
Participants in the international competition were challenged to imagine a small-scale, forward-thinking healthcare facility that would combine the best of facility design, sustainability and modern technology.
“As leaders in sustainable healthcare design, we are thrilled to play a role in designing and bringing to fruition a medical facility that will serve as a benchmark for the future of healthcare,” said Rick Hintz, principal at the Minneapolis office of Perkins+Will, which worked closely with the firm’s New York and Atlanta offices on the winning design. “We were incredibly proud to be among the three finalist firms out of a global array of more than 100, and prouder still that our concept was ultimately selected as the winner by Kaiser Permanente to reshape the way healthcare is designed and delivered.”
The Perkins+Will / M+NLB winning concept seeks to create spaces to inspire human-to-human connection and to blur the boundary between the community and the traditional hospital setting. Spatial elements of the design serve to improve communication and create a sense of community between patients and practitioners. And, in addition to significantly reducing demand for all resources, the regenerative systems design minimizes the generation of waste and emits no greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and no harmful contaminants to the water cycle.
The plan incorporates nature into the patient experience by orienting rooms around the large central courtyard, building on research that shows a positive correlation between exposure to nature and healing.
Perkins+Will / M+NLB are now eligible to enter into a contract with Kaiser Permanente to bring their small hospital concept to life.
