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INSIDE
I n health care design, it is criti-
cal for project stakeholders to
participate in development of
the functional space program,
articulating required adjacen-
cies and how facility use and opera-
tions must be integrated with space
planning. Defining how spaces will
be used, how they relate with other
spaces and ultimately how they will
be designed, are necessary initial
conversations in the project pro-
cess. Key contributors must have
the opportunity to be involved in
initial planning discussions and
review the design as it evolves from
conceptual to detailed. It is impor-
tant that experienced health care
architects guide conversations to
obtain operational information from
the stakeholders that will influence
the design.
A collaborative approach with
the following key stakeholders,
detailed knowl-
edge of health
care facilities and
operations, along
with careful plan-
ning can expedite
the design and
construction pro-
cess, reduce costs,
improve opera-
tions and create a
valuable consen-
sus among those
who will be utiliz-
ing the spaces.
Key stakehold-
ers include patients/family, owners,
operations, administration, clini-
cians, facilities staff, clinicians and
donors.
Understanding and including
facility operations and patient flow
in initial programming discussions
helps the design team address
critical issues that might be missed
without experience and detailed
knowledge of health care planning
and design. As an example, critical
to the design of successful contem-
porary facilities is the enormous
impact of information technology
and electronic medical records.
The space required to support and
accommodate these essential sys-
tems must be addressed early in
the design phase so that adequate
square footage is allocated. Sup-
porting infrastructure requirements,
such as power, cooling and cable
lengths also must be identified
in the initial stages with physical
requirements addressed. In addition
to identifying the physical space
requirements to support these IT
systems, the design team must
understand how work flows may
change due to the use of technology
by the health care delivery team,
as these changes impact physical
space. Through the use of technolo-
gy, we have seen that rooms can be
truly multifunctional, eliminating
the need to build redundant spaces.
Once the programming, planning
and design are advanced to a degree
that room layouts, infrastructure
and equipment are defined, we
like to utilize digital technology for
visualization as a helpful tool in the
design process. Our goal is to help
stakeholder groups envision and
evaluate how the space will look,
flow and function long before it’s
built. We find 3-D graphics, anima-
tion and virtual reality are all excel-
lent methods to evaluate and test
the design.
In today’s design process, 3-D
renderings and animations are
fairly common. However, the use
Hord Coplan Macht
When using virtual reality equipment this rendering of the new, HCM-designed MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland Campus Cardiovascular Center can be experienced in immersive 3-D views.
Mary Morissette,
FAIA, LEED AP,
Principal, Hord
Coplan Macht,
Denver