Dell Children’s Medical Center North Campus

The Challenge

To keep pace with the growing Central Texas population, Dell Children’s Medical Center is expanding with a new north campus that will be the first pediatric hospital in Williamson County. This campus will provide comprehensive health, wellness and emergency services in a child-friendly environment.

The HKS design team was challenged to develop a space that would continue to position Dell Children’s as a leader in pediatric health care, recruit world-renowned talent, and create a destination for programs poised for national prominence.

The Design Solution

Working in partnership with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas and community physician partners, the hospital will attract medical professionals who specialize in pediatrics. As a designated safety net hospital and Level III trauma center, the hospital will treat any type of illness regardless of ability to pay.

Dell Children’s will continue to develop groundbreaking programs such as fetal care, pediatric congenital heart services, which completed its first heart transplant at the main campus in 2020. Future programs may include a genetics and rare disease center.

Building upon the identity of the existing campus, the exterior design for the new hospital continues a story of connection to care and community. The exterior uses the same color tones, limestone brick and a tower that features a coronet inspired by the Daughters of Charity, who started a hospital in Austin in 1902 that would later become Dell Children’s. The interior design also mimics the look and feel of the main campus, creating a familiar and welcoming place for children and families to heal. It is an extension of the surrounding landscape, with large windows and spaces optimize natural light promoting health and wellness. Floor patterns evoke nearby karsts or watering holes and large-scale graphics depict local landscapes. Each floor is represented by a different theme and color to help with wayfinding.

The Design Impact

Dell’s Children’s Medical Center North Campus will be the first pediatric hospital in Williamson County, a vibrant fast-growing suburb of Austin. It is a destination for all levels of pediatric care by strengthening existing specialties and developing additional pediatric complex care programs. It ensures that children and their families never need to leave the Austin area for their critical care needs.

Dell Children’s Medical Center is part of a $1 billion investment in healthcare infrastructure for Central Texas. Since 2020, HKS has designed more than 800,000 square feet (74,322 square meters) of expansion space for Dell Children’s Medical Center at Ascension, including two parking garages.