Landmark $68 million facility focuses on patient-centered design
On Sept. 7, HEAPY announced that the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute was awarded the Gold Touchstone Award for Evidence Based Design and Research, the latest in a slew of awards received by the leading-edge facility, which opened in 2019. The outpatient clinical care building features a geometric, textured white mesh scrim exterior, which allows for an abundance of natural light, while also providing better energy efficiency.
| “The team wanted a clean interior design with open spaces and a lot of natural light. That type of environment promotes healing and is easier to navigate, particularly for people struggling with neurological disorders or injuries,” said Daric Hess, Healthcare Practice Director at HEAPY.
“The problem with glass exteriors is that too much direct sunlight can be harmful to patients and erode the building’s energy efficiency. We designed the faceted exterior sheath to help temper the direct sunlight and reduce heat gain.”
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| Daric Hess PE, LEED AP BD+C Healthcare Practice Director Senior Principal937-609-9910 drhess@heapy.com |
The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute brings together 125 faculty specialists and subspecialists and 15 care specializations under one roof, providing a single location for patients to receive services for treatment of epilepsy, brain tumors, mood disorders, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease. The building offers convenient amenities, including underground parking, a café, patient lounge, auditorium, and outdoor rehabilitation spaces.
The $68 million, 114,000 square-foot building exemplifies patient-centered design, with everything from the size of the rooms to the furniture selection promoting a healing indoor environment.
“At every step of the design, we put patient experience front and center,” said Jerry Johnson, Design Principal at Perkins&Will. “We worked directly with patients and caregivers to understand what navigating the current campus was like, so that we could create a building that provided better amenities, more welcoming spaces, and soothing design to help people who are experiencing balance, sensory, or motor issues.”
Sitting at the edge of the UC Health’s Clifton campus, the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute’s wavy, white exterior is a strong departure from the surrounding architecture and a landmark facility. The four-story building is the first new facility built by UC Health in more than three decades, part of the academic health system’s long-term campus master plan.
