Description

The use of art is key to understanding the Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland. Formerly dispersed across the city in small units, the pediatric services of the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center are now concentrated in one single, nine-story building. ZGF Architects LLP (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca) was involved from the earliest stages of the project, which allowed them to actively participate in the formulation of design criteria.

Organizing workshops with the hospital board and the prospective users, ZGF prepared a set of ‘guiding principles’ based on ten values, the overarching goal being to create an inspiring, fascinating, distracting and comfortable environment for people of all ages. One of the guiding principles was the use of art. Not only is art employed as a means to create attractive places, it also provides destinations for visitors and patients, as the artwork is an integral element in the wayfinding system. Since there is ample scientific data proving that children have a strong affinity for images from the natural world, imagery of the Oregon and the southwest Washington landscapes became a primary design driver, connecting the natural habitat of the region with the interior of the new building. Each floor is endowed with a specific animal that provides identity and facilitates orientation: dears, foxes, bears, hummingbirds, etc. These are etched in customized art glass and shown in the nurse stations at the eye-level of a toddler.

The abundant use of color also refers to regional landscapes; these, too, are used to identify specific parts of the building: a soft Oregon Coast color palette indicates the neonatal intensive care unit, a rich palette inspired by the Cascade Range is used in the outpatient oncology floor while the desert palette of bright oranges and reds designates the emergency and day surgery department. Used in ceilings, floors, doors and headwalls, bamboo adds a natural color background to this thematic diversity. The artist Fernanda D’Agostino created sculptural, cone-shaped elements of glass for the terrace garden on the third floor; covered with a colored lens, they also act as skylights for the neonatal intensive care unit underneath. Another key design objective was the use of soft, curved shapes, which give the hospital an organic feel. Glass panels, pergola structures, plants and paving material were chosen to create a restorative environment. The terrace garden offers places for play, for social interaction and for contemplation.

The philosophy that pervades the building is the now generally accepted principle of family-centered care. Inpatients and their families occupy the top floors. Randall Children’s Hospital has single bedrooms only; they are furnished with hotel quality elements, among them a double sleeping sofa for parents. Two-storied, glass-enclosed family lounges on each patient floor provide patients and their families with a place for respite and relaxation away from patient rooms. The building also boasts a family wellness center and a small movie theater with 15 seats. Distractions for patients, which can also be enjoyed by their families, are offered in an activity room, playrooms and a teen lounge with computers for gaming.

With 165 inpatient beds Randall Children’s Hospital is a medium-sized institution adjacent to an existing hospital, which shares some of its facilities. The day surgery unit, for instance, is connected with the operating theater in the other building. A tunnel on the basement level allows easy access. The eighth floor is laid out in anticipation of further expansion. The hospital occupies a landscaped plot with parking and greenery areas dotted with street furniture.

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Originally published in: Cor Wagenaar, Noor Mens, Guru Manja, Colette Niemeijer, Tom Guthknecht, Hospitals: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2018.