UF Health Shands Children's Hospital East Entry Renovation

Gainesville, FL, United States

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Architectural Mesh and Coloring

UF Health Shands Children's Hospital East Entry Renovation

Gainesville, FL, United States

Firm

Ponikvar and Associates

Type

Government + Health › Hospital Medical Facility

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2014

SIZE

10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft

BUDGET

$5M - 10M

Photos

George Cott (15)

UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital is a 187 bed children’s hospital within a hospital that provides a full range of children’s services including, a Pediatric ER, Acute Care Beds, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care, Congenital Heart ICU and Pediatric Oncology. The UF Health Shands Children's Hospital East Entry Renovation Project consisted of an upgrade of four of the building façade faces, provided a new entry pavilion (Phase 1) and a new reception/ lobby (Phase 2) for the UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida.

Phase 1 - The exterior portion of the project included: Minor demolition and site modifications, the installation of painted W.S. Tyler stainless steel wire mesh panels supported on a stainless steel tubular framework supported from the existing concrete building frame, new curtain wall at the second level wings, and a new 1,650 SF glazed entry pavilion.

The new multi-colored façade of the Shands Children’s Hospital establishes a prominent image to the community that children and their families are welcome and this is a special place where they will be treated differently than at other institutions. It is highly identifiable and serves as a beacon to visitors and community. The multi-storied glass Pavilion serves as the entrance to the Children’s Hospital and creates a vertical volume of space that is illuminated with sunlight at the base of the new façade. The space provides a transition from the outside world through a warm, clean, crisp transparent space that engages children with light and shadow while reassuring parents about the sophistication and professionalism of the hospital and staff. Once inside, the pattern generated by the colorful exterior panels transforms into an interactive educational art wall that introduces the Florida nature theme which will be used throughout the children’s hospital.

Phase 2 - The 8,400 SF interior renovation portion of the project consisted of the demolition of an existing Gift Shop and Toilet Rooms in order to provide space for new Toilets Rooms, a new Atrium Lobby Space, two new reception/information desks and support space for the Children’s Hospital reception/lobby.

The arrival path for the Children’s Hospital is a clear, architecturally pronounced space that integrates the color panel façade into the patient and visitor pathway, reinforcing the entry to the new Pavilion and Atrium. A full glass facade invites visitor’s interest into the building as the color panels continue into the building and transform into a thematic art wall. The formal atrium space serves as entry to the Children's Hospital. A donor wall prominently recognizes those who have provided philanthropic support, while a touch-screen interactive video wall is designed to display not only healing, peaceful images and sounds, but electronic media to engage families in a dynamic-educational interactive. Nature themes are introduced in the transition space between the Pavilion and Atrium, and as visitors progress into the Atrium, the images are replaced with iconography that will be used as wayfinding throughout the Children’s Hospital.