HKS Wins Two 2024 AIA Healthcare Design Awards
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced HKS has won two 2024 AIA Healthcare Design awards.
AIA is honoring HKS for Emory Musculoskeletal Institute (EMSK), Brookhaven, Georgia, and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond (Virginia) at VCU Children’s Tower. This is the second year in a row that two HKS projects have merited AIA Healthcare Design awards, which recognize the best in health facility design and planning.
The awards were officially announced at AIA24, the AIA’s national conference in Washington, D.C.
Norman Morgan, HKS Partner and Global Practice Director, Health, said this high level of excellence is due to HKS designers and researchers taking the time to listen and provide guidance to clients.
“They aren’t coming to us just to put a building together,” Morgan said. “We’re here to make a difference in the projects we do – to change the experience of patients and staff for the better.”
Emory Musculoskeletal Institute
The EMSK project included extensive research into the design of the facility’s clinic spaces and operating rooms (ORs).
Deborah Wingler, PhD, HKS Global Practice Leader, Applied Research, said HKS and Emory Healthcare made strategic decisions early in the project that allowed them to “lay the groundwork for being able to thoughtfully test the efficacy of design decisions following occupancy.”
The team collected data from existing Emory Healthcare clinics to use in evaluating the design of a new clinic module implemented at EMSK. And they partnered with the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing at Clemson University to conduct a functional performance evaluation of the new facility’s ORs.
The clinic module study demonstrated the value of co-locating clinic spaces with related specialty services, such as imaging. Staff rated the new clinic module highly in terms of visibility and travel distances, despite the module’s larger footprint. The OR design was shown to reduce surgical flow disruptions that can lead to adverse events for patients.
Wingler said, “We’re finding that some of these design considerations are making a meaningful, measurable difference.”
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Children’s Tower
The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Children’s Tower vertically and horizontally expands the Children’s Pavilion to create a full-service free-standing destination for pediatric healthcare. The 16-story tower creates a visual landmark for the VCU Health campus.
Kate Renner, HKS Studio Practice Leader, Health, said the project team focused on “creating spaces that can be both an oasis for healing and a beacon for health.”
The team took a collaborative approach to designing the Children’s Tower. Project stakeholders include more than 300 health system team members and more than 125 community members – including pediatric patients and their families – who provided input over the course of the building’s design and construction.
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized at the national level for this project that really does connect intent to impact,” Renner said. “Thank you to everyone who participated and joined us on this journey.”
