Penn Presbyterian by EwingCole: 2016 Best of Year Winner for Large Health Care
Hundreds of University of Pennsylvania Health System staff members, from 37 departments, were involved in a planning process that took three years. By the end, the team knew exactly what was needed at the long-awaited Pavilion for Advanced Care: state-of-the-art critical-care units, expanded surgical suites, an oversize helipad, and more. Design director Saul Jabbawy got the memo. He also identified an architectural goal: to make a single, cohesive 180,000-square-foot complex out of a renovated building and a new one.
To do that, he drew inspiration from the breezy, welcoming mood of a veranda to establish a circulation spine that overlooks a courtyard alongside. A swath of sparkling epoxy terrazzo flooring leads the patients, visitors, and employees beneath a succession of undulating white-painted steel fins, each lit by indirect LEDs. Other outdoor references include the reception desk, which swoops around like a racetrack. Meanwhile, walnut-veneered walls with slim aluminum reveals lend a residential feel, always a comfort in clinical environments.
Beyond the circulation spine, high-contrast materials and colorful accents grab patients’ attention, helping to alleviate anxiety. Local flavor also helps. So the waiting rooms and treatment spaces sport photomurals of familiar Philly sights, the images selected in a contest launched to engage the community in the project.
Project Team: John Gerbner; William Hawk; Mary Frazier; Caitlin Di Marzio; Kevin Cusick; Stephanie King; Elaine Kim; Jason Fierko; Jason Parrish; Dan Kolowitz; Chirag Amin; Carl Speroff; Bruce Falkenstein; Jaime De La Rosa; Peter Welsh; Colleen Blackwell; Bryan Crawford.
