Hartford Hospital - Orthopedic Bone and Joint Institute

What if we created a dynamic new hospital centered around patient recovery and connections to nature while also responding to a clients strict programmatic needs and expresses their unique organizational motto, "Life in Motion?" Scheduled to open in the fall of 2016, the existing Hartford Hospital campus will expand to include this new state of the art 250,000-square-foot, 60-bed inpatient orthopedic hospital with a surgical center, imaging facility, rehabilitation clinic, administrative spaces, amenities for patients and staff, and an adjoining medical office building. Appearing as a series of undulating white forms the plate metal exterior continuously wraps the building moving inward and outward shaped specifically by the efficiency of each floors layout. The overall building bends at the center to create an expansive two-story covered drop-off area & lobby allowing light and nature to flood the inner most parts of the building, and the resulting corner garden at the intersection connects the hospital with the F.L. Olmsted-designed park to the South. To maximize natural day-lighting and views to the surrounding parks public areas have floor-to-ceiling glass, patient rooms look out over gardens, and everywhere except for sensitive operation rooms have a direct view to the outside. The Institute’s innovation in design extends to the patient experience: upon arrival, patients use a variety of interactive media to expedite admission processes and learn more about conditions and treatments. The lobby design features a sinuous balcony that mirrors a ‘connective tissue,’ linking both halves of the building. Specifically shaped by how we live and to address the complex issues of healing environments, the idea was to design a building molded to react to it’s context and program, creating patient gardens and a new gateway for the hospital. The design creates a more patient centered healing environment and hopefully changes the way we look at hospitals.