Today, officials at Stanford Hospital & Clinics and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital unveiled designs for two new facilities—one by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and the other by Rafael Viñoly Architects—to be built at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California.
Bill Pedersen was on hand to present his firm’s contribution, a 104-bed expansion of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. In addition to solving the institution’s capacity issues, KPF’s design seeks to create a narrative that will give comfort to the children who receive treatment there. This narrative was cast as a journey: beginning in the lobby, a space dubbed the Explorer’s Pavilion, continuing on a trail that wends its way along a garden path, and ending in the patients’ rooms, which were envisioned as “nests.” Other spaces that might add to a child’s sense of wonder were also incorporated into the design, including “tree houses” and “overlooks” that provide perspectives of the garden.
Viñoly wasn’t to be outdone by KPF in his design for a new, ground-up, 600-bed hospital for Stanford, describing the goal as a redefinition of the model of a healing environment. And as with the KPF design, Viñoly’s goes out of its way to incorporate nature into the architecture.
Glassy corridors offer views to the foothills of Palo Alto, and the design boasts a central courtyard and roof gardens. The courtyard, which includes a prominent water feature, organizes public circulation on the lower levels and brings natural light to each floor. The roof gardens surround a public level that contains family and staff amenities.
“We are challenging outdated conventions in hospital design to establish a new architectural identity for Stanford Hospital,” said Viñoly.
Stanford University Medical Center has submitted a formal application for the renewal project to the city of Palo Alto, which is currently conducting the required environmental impact report, a process that includes multiple opportunities for public comment. Phased construction is scheduled to begin in 2010.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
Stanford Hospital
