Project category: New construction (completed August 2005)

Chief administrator: John Wilbanks, FACHE, Executive Vice- President and COO, (904) 202-2294

Firm: Cannon Design, (716) 774-3252

Design team: George Z. Nikolajevich, FAIA, Design Principal; Michael Pukszta, AIA, Healthcare Planner; James Walsh, AIA, Project Architect; David M. Polzin, AIA, Project Designer; Stephan K. Gartman, RA, Project Manager

Photography: Neil Rashba; Robert Pettus

Total building area (sq. ft.): 195,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: Not released

Total construction cost (excluding land): Not released


The Heart Hospital at Baptist is a four-story 195,000-gross-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art facility bounded by the existing Baptist Medical Center and St. John’s River. Occupying the premier location on campus, the facility consolidates cardiovascular services in one location with 88 inpatient progressive/critical care beds, 40-day–stay beds, outpatient surgery, and diagnostic and treatment services. The project doubles the size of the existing emergency department and includes a 500-car parking garage.

The new $60 million building serves heart patients, yet it is also the entry pavilion to the entire medical center. Because of the density of the campus, the site posed significant circulation challenges. Achieving a clear approach to multiple entrances, proper orientation for patient rooms, and creation of a welcoming image for the hospital proved to be difficult employing conventional planning. The entry drive splits into two independent drop-off loops—one into the emergency department and the other into the second-level public entry. The sectional stacking of arrival points is complete with the arrival of trauma patients to a freestanding helipad hovering above the public entrance that has since become an icon of the institution.

The universal patient rooms define the building shape, bending and folding with fluidity. This attenuation maximizes the perimeter length, affording as many patients as possible the best views. All patient rooms are private, with a contemporary design that allows them to be easily adapted to patient acuity from ICU through progressive to acute.