The Healthcare Environment Awards, presented by The Health Design Center in alliance with Sanitary design magazine: Recognize facility designs that enhance experiences, increase organizational efficiency, improve safety, and positively impact outcomes. Each year, participants submit projects in categories such as acute care, ambulatory care, assisted/long-term living, behavioral health, conceptual design, and student design work.
The 2023 winners were celebrated during an awards ceremony at the most recent Healthcare Design Conference + Exposition in New Orleans. Below is a quick look at the three winning built projects along with the winning student.
Credit: Jono Parker (Te Huhi)
Te Huhi Raupō – Taranaki Base Hospital Renal Unit
Presented by Warren and Mahoney and Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
This kidney dialysis clinic in New Zealand serves nearly 400 patients within a sustainability-focused space of just over 2,600 square feet. Aiming to achieve Net Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification, Te Huhi Raupō features a locally sourced solid wood structure, solar panels and reclaimed wood cladding, along with a backup osmosis water treatment plant. Aiming to provide a comfortable and welcoming environment for patients, the design team paid considerable attention to natural lighting, privacy, air quality, acoustics and thermal performance. The north-facing windows offer views of the sea and the garden surroundings.
Image: Te Huhi Raupō – Taranaki Base Hospital Renal Unit.-13
Credit: Jono Parker (Te Huhi)
Credit: Nigel Young © 2022 PennFIRST (Pavilion)
The Hospital Pavilion of the University of Pennsylvania
Presented by PennFIRST (HDR, Foster + Partners, LF Driscoll, BR+A, Balfour Beatty)
The 1.5 million-square-foot Pavilion, the largest capital project in the history of the University of Pennsylvania, made a splash when it opened in 2021. Built by an integrated project delivery team, the patient building 17-story hospital buildings obtained USGBC LEED v4 Gold. Health certification: the largest project in the world to achieve it. Painstaking mock-up events, the use of prefabrication during construction (accounting for about 25 percent of materials), a focus on patient comfort, and hospitality-inspired interiors all played a role in shaping this monumental achievement. .
Credit: Halkin Mason Photography (Community of Hope)
Community Of Hope Family Birth and Health Center
Presented by Gensler and Community of Hope
As the only free-standing birth center in Washington, DC, the Birth and Family Health Center (led by the nonprofit Community of Hope) provides critical services for low-income families in the area. Its new facilities offer a more welcoming and home-like experience than typically found in urban health centres, with low, open reception desks; smooth architectural curves; and vibrant local artwork. The space, a former 1960s office building, accommodates 14 patient exam rooms on the first floor, plus two delivery rooms, counseling rooms, a multipurpose community room and a pharmacy on the second. A third floor was added to the building to provide space for staff offices and a call center.
STUDENT DESIGN WINNER: AGING IN COMMUNITY
Credit: © 2023 Helen Herget and Anna Kubiak (Aging in Community)
Presented by TU Vienna, Helen Herget and Anna Kubiak
This student concept aims to serve people with dementia, with mixed-use structures that allow them to age in a familiar environment for a long period of time. Located within an existing neighborhood with easy access to public transportation and a nearby hospital, the proposed community would allow residents to remain well connected to their loved ones.
Additional awards for the healthcare environment
Conceptual design winners:
- Reviving Care: Mindful, Evidence-Based Design to Combat Burnout, presented by the University of Florida and Perkins&Will
- Papillio Domos: Hospice for Children, presented by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
Student Design Honorable Mention:
- Inpatient ICU Unit and Cardiac Operating Room, presented by Kent State University, Yasmin Faisal
For more details on these projects, visit healthdesigns.org.
Kristin D. Zeit is a contributing editor at Healthcare Design and can be reached at kristinzeit@gmail.com.
