Florida Hospital Apopka
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Bold orange utilized on Florida Hospital Apopka symbolizes life of the community.
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The hospital’s transitional design sets the tone for a new mixed-use district called Wellness Point.
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Planter benches under skylights in the main entry abstractly resemble flats found in greenhouses.
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The interiors employ a neutral color palette that is calming and serves as a backdrop for artwork.
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The lobby chandelier adds elegance and interest, while also serving as a subtle wayfinding tool.
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Warm woods and natural light contribute to the serenity of the chapel.
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The chapel opens up into an adjoining prayer garden for reflection and connectivity to nature.
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Transparency between indoor and outdoor dining creates a calming setting for families and staff.
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At least 90% of patient, staff and public spaces are within 20 feet of a window.
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An indoor-outdoor connection is evident throughout the facility to provide the healing powers of natural light.
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Openness of the PACU nursing station allows sightlines to all patients along the unit’s perimeter.
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Outdoor dining, located near the main entry, serves as an element to pull visitors into the building.
Submitted by: ESa – Earl Swensson Associates (Nashville, Tenn.)
The new seven-story, 120-inpatient-bed replacement, full-service community hospital is the first greenfield campus built by Florida Hospital since the 1990s. Located in Apopka, Fla., the facility’s architectural simplicity is intended to be a modern representation of the history of the city as the world’s indoor foliage capital.
Through design, both inpatient and outpatient needs were given equal presence and access. The site provided the opportunity for one central point main entrance on the ground floor for both outpatients and inpatients.
For expediency, all outpatient services are located off the main lobby. The emergency department is a straight path down a corridor. The ED trauma rooms are only 50 feet from surgery, which also has a connectivity to suites for heavier surgical procedures.
Using the hospital’s exterior as a foundation, the interiors employ a neutral color palette, providing a calm background for vivid artwork and upholstery textiles found throughout. At several locations, the exterior materials extend inside. Custom-designed lighting, such as the 19-foot chandelier located in the lobby, creates drama and elegance. Accent flooring materials and paint colors assist with wayfinding.
Inpatient floors incorporate evidence-based design and Lean thinking. Forty-bed floors are divided into two 20-bed wings with a central core of support spaces and another at the end of the second wing in order to reduce nursing steps. The emergency department dedicates space to lower-acuity patients toward the department’s front. Higher acuity are treated in spaces deeper into the department. This arrangement reduces patient wait times.
Project Category: New construction
Chief Administrator: Tim Cook, CEO, Florida Hospital Apopka
Firm: ESa (Earl Swensson Associates), www.esarch.com
Design Team: ESa (architect and interior designer); Brasfield & Gorrie (contractor); Donald McIntosh Associates (civil engineer); Structural Design Group SDG (structural engineer); TLC Engineering (MEP engineer)
Total Building Area (Sq. Ft.): 437,787
Construction Cost/Sq.Ft: $333
Total Construction Cost: $146 million
Completed: December 2017
