The Patient Support Centre (PSC) at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is a new 22-storey education, training, and administrative tower in Toronto. Designed by B+H and built by PCL Construction, the new tower taps B+H’s multi-disciplinary expertise in architecture, workplace interiors, and landscape design to create a dynamic and sustainable tower that supports hospital staff and positively contributes to SickKids’ downtown campus. The tower embodies SickKids' desired culture and strengthens its connection to the overall SickKids campus, which spans from University Avenue to Bay Street.
The Patient Support Centre consolidates the hospital’s administrative services into a central hub. It houses interdisciplinary educational and learning areas, along with individual and collaborative workspaces for staff from more than 30 hospital departments.
The Patient Support Centre is a critical first step of Project Horizon, SickKids’ multi-year campus transformation project to build a hospital of the future. Efficiently uniting multiple functions and departments onto a single modest footprint, the new Patient Support Centre not only promotes efficiency, collaboration, and interconnectivity among staff, but unlocks additional campus real estate for future renovation and development.
As the first "smart building" on the SickKids campus, the Patient Support Centre is equipped with a building automation system that optimizes energy performance by adjusting heating, cooling, and lighting based on occupancy. Recycled materials are prioritized in finishes and furnishings, while low-emission materials minimize indoor air pollution. Water conservation is achieved through low-flow fixtures, and energy efficiency is ensured by LED lighting throughout. The building is also connected to Toronto’s Enwave deep lake-water cooling energy system, using clean and renewable water from Lake Ontario to maintain building temperatures.
High-performing envelope systems and a focus on natural daylighting contribute to the building’s overall efficiency. A rigorous solar exposure study informed the building’s façade design by maximizing south- and west-facing glazing for city views, while minimizing north- and east-facing glazing where views are obstructed. The resulting window-to-wall ratio efficiently balances transparency and insulation. Colourful vertical fins on the building’s façade passively shade against the sun, mitigating heating and cooling loads and optimizing thermal performance. Ample natural daylighting reduces the need for artificial lighting.
Honouring the hospital’s research culture and pioneering a workplace design for integrated healthcare delivery, the new Patient Support Centre emerges as a transformative force for SickKids, with the mission to nurture collaboration and innovation among its talent.
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