Project category: New construction (completed September 2004)

Chief administrator: John Labriola, Senior Vice-President and Hospital Director, (248) 898-5421

Firms: Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), (314) 421-2000; HarleyEllis, (248) 262-1500

Design team: Richard Hall, Principal-in-Charge; Daniel Caren, Project Manager; Eric Essique, Project Architect (HarleyEllis); Paul Strohm, Principal; Hank Winkelman, Designer (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum [HOK])

Photography: Justin Maconochie

Total building area (sq. ft.): 656,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $286

Total construction cost (excluding land): $187,845,000

In 1999, William Beaumont Hospital was operating at high capacity in inpatient facilities originally developed more than 40 years ago. Through an intensive process of self-exploration and discovery, William Beaumont Hospital created its own vision for the “hospital of the future,” unique to its mission and culture of patient care. The new 656,000-sq.-ft. South Tower is a patient-centered facility focused on the care of surgical patients, women, infants, children, and cancer patients. Throughout the design process and redevelopment program, the design team focused primarily on the needs of patients and their families, as well as the staff and physicians who serve them.

The following principles guided the team of designers, caregivers, physicians, and administrators: respect the privacy of the patient and family member and foster personal interaction with physicians and caregivers; decentralize nursing, technology, and support space close to the patient; create a noninstitutional building; and create a building that is flexible.

The new facility is visually open and inviting while embracing the rich Beaumont legacy of exceptional patient care and service excellence. It brings comfort and convenience to the patient’s experience through an environment that promotes healing and well-being.