Project category: New construction (completed November 2003)

Chief administrator: Cynthia Sparer, Executive Director, (212) 305-0345

Firms: EwingCole, (215) 923-2020; Davis Brody Bond, (212) 633-4744

Design team: Jim Wolters, AIA, Project Manager; John Gerbner, AIA, Principal-in-Charge; John Chase, AIA, Project Designer (EwingCole); William Paxson, AIA, Partner-in-Charge (Davis Brody Bond)

Photography: © David Lamb Photography; Peter Paige

Total building area (sq. ft.): 265,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $453

Total cost (excluding land): $120,000,000

Designing the new ten-story, $120 million Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian presented unique opportunities for EwingCole and Davis Brody Bond. More than 300 physicians, nurses, support staff, administrators, volunteer leaders, and patients’ family members teamed with the design professionals to create a new center for the hospital that fulfills its mission to be the premier provider of children’s health services and the most prominent advocate of family-centered care.

The Children’s Hospital of New- York-Presbyterian is the community hospital for the children and families of Washington Heights, New York. It is also the regional, national, and international destination for many of the finest pediatric specialty and specialty care physicians available anywhere. The design team created an accessible “front door” for both local and worldwide patients and integrated aspects of New York’s diverse culture throughout the facility.

This extraordinary facility gives tangible form to the principle of family-centered care. Families are welcome anytime and anywhere their children go. Nowhere is this more evident than in the design of the individual patient rooms. A clearly defined zone adjacent to the patient area is set aside for the family, where they will feel welcome and involved. This “family alcove” includes a day bed/sofa; built-in desk with Internet connections, so parents can work while attending their children; and a gracious window seat, set low to give a child an excellent view from his or her bed to the outside.

Part of the planning process involved the strategic restacking of existing floors in two adjoining hospital buildings to integrate the new ten-story tower into the existing campus. The result is the creation of “super floors” that streamline circulation and functional space. Patients and families benefit from consolidated medical expertise, while the new layout reduces the anxiety that can accompany a hospital stay.

Additional interior planning and design features include: a Child Life Center and Family Support Suite on every floor and a public school room on each bed floor to stress the importance of child-life activities; spacious patient rooms to provide families with comfortable living and sleeping areas, and staff with integrated work areas; the integration of wireless technology to ensure that more than 90% of medical information is electronic; and themes of children’s literature integrated into every part of the design.