Project category: New construction & Remodel/Renovation (completed July 2009)
Chief administrator: Steve Littleson, President, (732) 776-2905
Firm: WHR Architects, (713) 665-5665
Design team: Architect of Record (WHR Architects); Program Manager (Stantec, formerly Granary Associates); Construction Manager (L. F. Driscoll) MEP (PWI Engineering); Structural Engineer (DiStasio Van Buren); Civil Engineer (Dewberry-Goodkind)
Photography: ©2010 Woodruff/Brown Photography
Total building area (sq. ft.): 378,361 (new); 38,000 (renovation)
Construction cost/sq. ft.: $420 for new construction
Total construction cost (excluding land): $205,900,000 (new and renovation; central plant and parking garage)
Jersey Shore University Medical Center's (JSUMC) "Transforming Care" project opened in 2009. The expanded facilities set the foundation for a transformation of the hospital's approach to patient care.
"Our project is about growth and improving the entire patient experience, which we will accomplish through evidence-based design, advanced technology, incredible customer service, and responsive environments," said JSUMC's President Steve Littleson.
Littleson's voice motivated the team. Inspired by his directive, the design team found the perfect metaphor for his transformation in ship's sail on the nearby Jersey coastline, harnessing fluctuating winds to guide the vessel home. The design part is a juxtaposition of three buildings around a node. The sail's abstracted, spiraling shape became a central organizational node, wayfinding feature, and community space, a unifying design element that extends and informs the entire project. A naturally inspired material palette and tectonics with curvilinear gestures shape interior experiences, creating a series of enriching human experiences that aid the holistic healing process.
A committed teaching institution, the hospital elected to become a Pebble Project. This association helped develop a nursing neighborhood (NR) concept informed by existing evidence; research is underway to comprehend the effects of decentralization in the NR on interdisciplinary communication patterns, quality of care, and patient safety. The NR addressed the concerns of aging patients and nurses. Built around the roundtable concept, it improves collaboration and visibility, decreases errors and staff travel distances, leading to comforted patients.
JSUMC has earned LEED Gold certification, making it the first LEED Gold certified healthcare facility over 200,000 square feet on the East Coast. The new design expands the hospital's capacity, capability and healing efficacy, evoking their vision of "Transforming Care" in their community.
WHR Architects was the architect of record, and Genesis Planning provided medical equipment technology planning for this project.
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