Anchoring a campus transformation initiative that began in 2008, the NYU Langone Health, Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion in New York opened in June 2018 with 34 operating and procedure rooms and 374 all-private patient rooms. The 21-story, 830,000-square-foot project establishes a new identity for NYU Langone Health as well as a new front door for the hospital. Submitted to the Design Showcase by NYU Langone Health, Real Estate Development and Facilities, Ennead Architects, and NBBJ, the project boasts impressive architectural and structural elements that respond to a challenging site, a comprehensive resiliency plan, and a goal to earn LEED Platinum certification.

A primary challenge was to develop the tower atop a site located in a flood zone and without disturbing aging rail tunnels underneath. The innovative solution was to design the building as a bridge that spans those tunnels, with a series of 30-foot-high trusses located at the 6th floor mechanical level that supports the bed tower above, while the OR floors below are suspended from the bridge.

Additionally, the project features a highly flexible OR and procedure platform, integrated technologies that give patients more control over their environments and reduce the spread of infections, and a universal patient room module with standardization across floors and service lines.