Baylor Surgical Hospital at Fort Worth
The exterior provides a pattern language to convey public to private spaces with the use of expansive curtain wall to designate entrance and circulation within while the brick protects views into areas while strategically providing natural light.
The main entrance greets the visitor with a grand canopy reminiscent of a lily pad. This canopy serves as a figural wayfinding element welcoming the visitor while at the same time signifying the main entry point.
The exterior brick façade displays in an abstract manner the activities occurring within. The fractal pattern is based on the biological fractal sequences found throughout nature.
The double height lobby serves as a continuation of the exterior by connecting the visitor with the natural surrounding landscape. The play of light and shadow created by the patterns on the glazing mimics as if leaves dancing under a tree.
The stairs within the lobby space communicate a point of transition between the diagnostic/treatment spaces of level 01 up to the inpatient recovery unit at level 02.
The dining area is elevated located on the second floor looking out to the historic district. The floor to ceiling windows offers the space to feel open and inviting with a play of shadows casted into the space from the pattern on the glass.
10 Operating rooms are provided with the ability for expansion. Clerestory windows offer daylighting into the operating room spaces as well as into the Prep and Recovery patient areas of the Surgical Department.
The 30 patient care rooms include 2 VIP/Bariatric Rooms with a separate family living space for extended stay recovery. The headwalls and toilets room utilized prefabrication methods, mocked-up, reviewed and assembled in a near by warehouse allowing for quality control and time savings during construction.
The patient room design is set in a neutral back drop welcoming the daylighting in to diffuse and brighten the recovery space. Accent wood and color utilized at strategic areas of the room to address focal points.
In the evening the exterior is meant to provide a soft glow similar to a lantern or beacon to the neighborhood and community.
Submitted by: Page Southerland Page (Dallas)
Baylor Surgical Hospital at Fort Worth (Fort Worth, Texas) had outgrown its existing facility. The client assessed multiple options starting with renovation considerations. It was determined a replacement hospital with capacity for future growth was a more appropriate direction for improved care and optimization of operations. The 5.2-acre site for the new 82,000-square-foot hospital is located approximately 1.5 miles from the existing facility, revitalizing a brown field site within an area undergoing rapid urban revitalization and mixed-use development. The project was a collaborative and integrated team process applying efficient planning, creative use of materials, and prefabrication methods that were keys for success to deliver the new facility on time and on budget.
A fractal formation design creates scaling to human dimensions for the visitor to feel a sense of intimacy while establishing a proportional relationship to the building. The use of the exterior materials correlates to the functional organization within. The glass communicates directional flow for patrons upon entering the site, to the main lobby, and through to departmental entrances. As the flow of the space transitions to private offstage areas, the exterior is solid with windows strategically placed to bring in natural light.
The first floor includes diagnostic and treatment services with imaging, emergency, and 10 operating rooms, while the second floor has 26 inpatient beds and four intensive care beds. The new facility provides for all private patient rooms differing from the existing facility, which aligns the hospital with the desired goal for patient-family centered care.
Project category: New construction
Chief administrator: Paul DeBona, CEO
Firm: Page Southerland Page, www.pagethink.com
Design team: Page Southerland Page (architect, interior designer, structural and MEP engineer); Kimley-Horn & Associates (civil engineer); Telios PC (low voltage security consultant); Mazzetti+GBA (medical equipment planner); Hill & Wilkinson (contractor)
Total building area (sq. ft.): 82,000
Construction cost/sq. ft.: $292
Total construction cost (excluding land): $24 million
Completed: August 2014
