Project category: New construction (completed January 2006)

Chief administrator: Terri Turk, Director, (803) 434-2379

Firm: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, (415) 398-5191

Design team: Ken Caldwell, Senior Medical Planner; Larry Parrett, Project Director; Chris Griffes, Senior Technical Architect; Hans Woestenborg, Technical Architect; Tony Delles, Project Architect

Photography: George Fulton, Imagery, Inc.

Total building area (sq. ft.): 437,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $144

Total construction cost (excluding land): $63,000,000

The design of the Heart & Vascular Hospital is based on several overriding planning concepts. For operational flexibility, the design is based on a universal nursing unit concept, so that units can be easily modified as both medical functions and staffing models change over time, allowing patient units to be tailored to serve any level of acuity. The modular and repetitive design enhances operational efficiencies and construction economies, permitting each unit to operate in a very similar manner, thus enhancing the abilities of staff to operate efficiently in all units.

The hospital has clear and simple circulation patterns. Individual nursing-unit blocks are grouped between courtyards and anchored to a public spine along its northern end and to a staff spine along the south. This permits clear wayfinding and a separation of public and service movement.

The use of existing hospital infrastructure and support services eliminates the need to duplicate these functions within the Heart Hospital. The large floor plate provides for direct horizontal adjacencies for surgical services, cardiac catheterization rooms, and intensive care units.

The initial design philosophy was based on creating a serene and comforting environment. This works to counteract the often-institutional experience of most hospitals. There are three garden courtyards laid out to symbolize nature, regeneration, and healing.

Parking is located directly below the facility, allowing ease and convenience for both visitors/patients and staff/physicians.