February 21, 2005
Photo courtesy BRENDA LIU; A-FRAME STUDIO
A night view of the new public entrance at the Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe, Ont.
Norfolk General Hospital project
Architect melds function with humanism
By Patricia Williams
staff writer
In order to better serve both the needs of the community and accommodate seasonal upswings in patient volumes, Norfolk General Hospital is undertaking a $12.5-million addition and renovation project.
The project includes approximately 35,000 square feet of new construction and 15,000 square feet of renovations, enabling creation of a new emergency department and expansion of the diagnostic imaging program.
The project also entails creation of a new emergency entrance, dropoff area and ambulance bay at the full-service community hospital in the town of Simcoe in southwestern Ontario.
The project team includes Farrow Partnership Architects Inc., mechanical-electrical engineers Chorley and Bisset Ltd., structural engineers Halsall Associates Ltd. and landscape architects EDA Collaborative Inc.
General contractor is D. Grant and Sons Ltd. Subtrades and suppliers include: Benson Steel (structural steel); Golden Triangle Welding (metal fabricators); Kappeler Masonry Corp. (masonry/cut stone); Neil Montague Construction (earthworks); Merit Glass Ltd. (curtainwall, windows and glazing); Grassing Drywall and Acoustics Ltd. (framing); and Flynn Roofing (roofing).
Architect Tye Farrow, partner in charge of design at his firm, said design of a community healthcare project “presents a breadth of opportunities” to meet local needs and also strengthen the facility’s “unique relationship” with people served on a daily basis.
“This can be achieved through appropriate architecture and by offering programs that meet the community’s needs for today and into the future.”
Farrow said the design strategy takes its cues directly “from the strength of the people within the community, the physical vernacular of the neighbourhood and the needs of its residents.”
Three symbols support this methodology, Farrow said. These are:
• The porch, a quintessential symbol of home and welcoming. The notion of security and home was further reinforced through creation of the stone base around the building and use of wood cladding representative of large shutters.
• The large stone retaining wall, representative of the strength, respect of and partnership with nature. This wall, which helps form the space of the entry plaza, slips under the protection of the large front porch.
• The hand, a symbol of both comfort and determination on the part of the community to get the project built. Two, smaller glass canopies that reach out into the courtyard space to protect the front entry doors mimic the subtle forms of a gently cupped hand.
To further strengthen ties to “an already tight” community, a new courtyard has been created between the addition and the adjacent nursing home. This exterior public space can be used by family, patients and staff as well as nursing home residents.
“This is a place of refuge, congregation and celebration and of neighbourhood and community,” Farrow said.
The fundamental principle behind the design, he said, is the marrying of the facility’s functional requirements with a sense of humanism, which is rooted in the notion that “patient well-being is of the utmost importance.
Natural elements
“This should manifest itself in visually pleasing environments that evoke images and sentiment through the use of natural materials, access to sunlight and the marriage of architecture and landscape.”
To this end, stone and wood are extensively used inside. Floors are rendered with a number of patterns that create the appearance of area rugs, “reflecting the traditional vernacular of a welcoming community.”
The hospital’s medical staff and employees were actively involved in all phases of the project, including space layout, design and selection of colour schemes.
“This (involvement) has resulted in an efficient use of space and a functional building,” said William Lewis, the hospital’s president and CEO.
He said the colour scheme, which contributes shades of mauve, yellow and green, creates “a warm and welcoming” environment in the new space.
The natural sunlight in four examination rooms and the resuscitation/trauma room in the emergency department creates “less of a sterile and medical” environment for patients, Lewis added.
He said the enclosed ambulance bay improves privacy for patients, who also no longer have to contend with harsh weather conditions during transfers to the emergency department entrance.
Patient flow has been significantly improved throughout the emergency department, Lewis said. A new elevator will transfer patients expeditiously to the intensive care unit and the surgical suites above.
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