A new building dedicated to maternity and pediatric care and accommodating both Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, it is intended to provide “family centered maternity care.” Woven into the structure of the existing hospital and parking garage complex, the new mother and baby program is housed on five stories behind a curved glass façade, which peeks out from behind the existing facility. These glimpses of the new façade entice visitors to the new program. A series of variously colored curved “circlets,” symbolizing the continuity of family, enlivens the exterior façade while, on the interior, serves to orient and guide expecting mothers and their families. These circlets also provide natural light deep into the building and enhance views from every patient room.
The second floor is the arrival point for most patients, as they cross the skyway from Abbott Northwestern’s campus to the new mother baby facility. It also leads to the existing 27-bassinet Specialty Care Nursery. The Post-Partum and Ante-Partum 6-bed-pod patient rooms are designed to help assist in the healing and birthing process. The environment embraces both evidence-based design innovations and patient-centered care models. Rooms are designed with materials that evoke a sense of warmth, comfort and beauty in a stress-free environment. Paths of circulations tie the units to each other through separate routes dedicated to patients, staff, visitors and supplies, respectively. With their own private path, expectant mothers do not risk “being seen” in a compromised state, reducing anxiety and stress.