The expansion and renovation of Community Hospital North will nearly double the size of the existing hospital and transform the facility from a suburban hospital to an urban medical center.

The focal point of the project is a new 400,000-sq.-ft., six-story tower that will house one of the largest and most advanced women’s and children’s hospitals in the country. A two-story curved-glass gallery spans the front of the patient tower, providing easy access to outpatient and family services located directly off the gallery. A glass curtainwall encloses patient floors above the gallery. These layers of transparency let in abundant natural light and facilitate wayfinding.


The 30-bed, football-shaped LDRP units are divided into quadrants, each with its own communication center. Curved hallways give caregivers direct sight lines from the communication center to all patients in the quadrant.

Spacious LDRP rooms are configured to provide privacy for patients and include large, comfortable family areas. The exterior curtainwall allows natural light to fill the room. Hospitality-style amenities in the room’s family zone include a “daddy work area,” Internet access, a second TV with DVD, microwave, and refrigerator, as well as seating and sleeping accommodations.

Centrally located rooms for high-risk patients provide views into a sunlit, six-story atrium. Private NICU rooms include accommodations for families of babies needing the most care. Indeed, the entire facility has been designed to provide an exceptional healthcare experience for patients and their families.

Project category: Project in progress (March 2007)

Chief administrator: Barbara Summers, President, (317) 621-6262

Firm: RTKL, (214) 871-8877

Design team: John Castorina, AIA, VP-in-Charge and Lead Designer; James Johnson, AIA, Project Director; Jorge Rodriguez, Project Architect; Christy Murphy, AIA, Project Architect; Dori Mommers, IIDA, Interior Designer (RTKL); Jeff Davis, Medical Equipment Planner (EQ International)

Total building area (sq. ft.): 400,000 (new); 135,000 (renovation)

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $221 (new); $141 (renovation)

Total construction cost (excluding land): $88,320,000 (new); $19,000,000 (renovation)