Contract - October 2011 - (Page 70)

A café terrace and colorful lobbies are obvious giveaways that Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center in Bellevue, Washington, is special among the cluster of medical buildings adjacent to the I-405 freeway. A prototype for a series of ambulatory surgical care centers planned around the region, this clinic is a welcoming presence amidst the more institutional-appearing neighbors for young patients. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) agrees, having awarded the center a 2011 AIA Healthcare Design Award. The team behind the innovative clinic hails from the Seattle office of NBBJ, a firm that’s been honored for numerous healthcare projects through the years. For this facility, NBBJ embraced the client’s commitment to Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI), a practice of reducing waste and increasing efficiency through continuous small adjustments. The result is a lean design that is still rich in human experience for patients and staff. light-filled lobby. Farther in, different hues are used for each examroom corridor to facilitate wayfinding. There’s more to navigating the center besides color cues. A key CPI concept identified early in the design process was separation of patient circulation from staff and equipment. Most facilities use the Key Healthcare Design Highlights • Patient circulation is separate from staff, improving wayfinding and creating quiet, uncluttered corridors. • Exam rooms sandwich common teaming areas where physicians and staff can work more efficiently and enter the rooms without using the patient corridors. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider • Sliding doors replace traditional ones so that space is not lost to door swings. • Grouping related facilities together and creating dual-purpose rooms reduces walking distances and wait times for patients. Efficiencies for the staff translate into more time with patients. • Attaching induction rooms to operating rooms allows families to be with patients during sedation, and increases patient safety by eliminating travel through unsanitary corridors to surgery. • Patients and their families connect to the calming benefits of the natural world and sunlight through ample glass, sheltered exterior spaces, and skylights. Thoughtful programming Even before entering the building, approaching families spot welcoming qualities from a steel-framed, mesh-screened zone running the length of the clinic’s glazed facade. This outdoor space houses a café as well as a healing garden, with views out over a green roof. Inside, a bright orange wall draws attention to the patient check-in area of the 70 contract october 2011 www.contractdesign.com http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - October 2011

Contract - October 2011
Contents
Editorial
Industry news
Product briefs: healthcare
Product focus: caregivers need care, too
Product focus: above + below
Product focus: glass for health
Advancements made in evidence-based healthcare design
The power of design
Less clinical, more hospitable
Beautifully lean
Raising the bar
New life
Urban sanctuary
The 2011 healthcare environment awards
Designers select: healthcare products
Ad index
Perspectives

Contract - October 2011