At Homestead Hospital, HKS designers were committed to developing a healing, safe environment throughout the entire facility while incorporating the familiar Baptist Health signature look in the South Florida market.
Baptist Health South Florida opened one of the area's most high-end hospitals on May 6, 2007. The 300,000-sq.-ft. Homestead Hospital is built on 60 acres of land located just east of the Florida Turnpike.
The beauty of southern Florida is naturally experienced through large expansive windows in the main rotunda and is brought into the space through daylighting, an oceanic-inspired palette of colors, palm trees and tropical flowers, local artwork, warm wood tones and galleries of open space.
“Homestead Hospital is inspired by the traditional Spanish Colonial architecture prevalent in south Florida and adopted by Baptist Hospital of Miami — the parent healthcare organization,” said Dan Noble, principal designer, HKS, Inc. “Our design expresses that this hospital is a place where state-of-the-art medicine is practiced in a non-intimidating environment. Glass curtain wall detailing, contemporary interior finishes and furnishings, and modern interpretations of traditional design elements help to communicate a feel that is progressive while remaining traditional.”
The full patient experience — from the atrium entry to patient rooms to high-tech clinical areas, like the emergency room and intensive care units, has been conceived to strengthen the concept of healing in a tropical environment. The aesthetic manifestation of this concept was to allow the overall palette to reflect the traditional Spanish Colonial brand of Baptist Health, while the details and nuances of the design speak to a building that is of its time and communicates a sense of leading-edge competence.
In with the new
Leaders at Homestead Hospital, in Homestead, Fla., took providing top-notch healthcare services seriously when developing the hospital. One of the most inviting and safest hospitals in Florida, it replaces the existing Homestead Hospital that opened in 1940.
“We had outgrown the existing hospital,” said Corey Gold, vice president of Homestead Hospital. “We didn't have the structural support to build up or the additional land to build out and the parking was minimal. Our employee space was also limited — due to our growth from 400 to 500 employees.”
The new facility, three times larger than the previous one, broadens healthcare services to the expanding population of South Miami-Dade County. It features all-private patient rooms, an emergency center triple the size of the existing one, additional operating rooms, and more clinical space for outpatient diagnostic services, and minimally invasive surgical procedures.
Hurricane ready
Homestead is designed to withstand a Category Five hurricane. Given the volatile southern Floridian climate, it was paramount that the building be able to remain fully operational during any catastrophe.
“Located 25 miles south of Miami, the hospital was in the line of the Hurricane Andrew storms that made landfall in 1992,” said Gold. “The hospital wasn't hit and remained operational — but it taught us a valuable lesson about how devastating the storms can be.”
