Project category: Project in progress (December 2007)

Chief administrator: Wendy Fucile, Interim CEO, (705) 743-2121

Firm: Dunlop Architects, Inc., (416) 596-6666

Design team: Michael Moxam, Project Principal, Design Principal; Norman Crone, Health Care Planning Principal; Grant MacEachern, Design Team Member; Anthony Cho, Project Architect, Manager; Eugene Chumakov, Design Team Member

Total building area (sq. ft.): 750,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: Not released

Total cost (excluding land): Not released


Located on the 35-acre site of the existing Peterborough Civic Hospital, this new regional health center will fully replace and consolidate the services of Peterborough Civic Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital into one site. The new hospital will expand to accommodate 529 inpatient beds and provide full diagnostic and treatment facilities.

The challenge is to accommodate a 750,000-square-foot program into a community-based health facility that is responsive in scale to its surrounding residential community. The design solution emphasizes strong community connections; family-centered design; a positive work environment; and a flexible design to accommodate future program change, technology, and expansion. The design concept uses the natural slope of the site to maximum advantage to reduce the apparent scale of the new building.

The main entrance is highly visible and accessible to family and patients. Upon entrance, visitors are immediately reconnected with a panoramic view of the beautiful regional geography through the fully glazed lobby wall. This space provides clear and understandable access to the principal circulation spine, providing clear access to all key clinical and public areas of the hospital. Interior courtyards, through which the spine passes, are a key organizing element, bringing natural light deep into a large floor plate, and serve as natural orientation devices for users.

A key symbol of the city of Peterborough is the image of the many bridges that connect across the Otonabee River. This imagery is captured in the expression of the circulation spine as it passes through the courtyard spaces.

Materials reflect the natural landscape of the Peterborough geographic region, as well as the rich industrial heritage of the city of Peterborough.