Re-thinking the current model

Heal Live

Armed with the knowledge of the time period in which the treatments will take place, the severity / number of the treatments necessary and the intended outcome at various intervals, the patient enters into a

physical and mental battle to survive.

This aspect of the process constitutes both the beginning and end of a grueling process that can take anywhere from a few months to several years. Patients’ lives are

changed on both an emotional and physical level. Lifestyle adjustments are made and treating the disease in the most efficient manner becomes top priority. Maintaining a sense

of normalcy becomes a goal.

The Cyclical Model

The proposed model is a more cyclical process in which the patient receives a diagnosis, is presented with the facilities to

cope with and deal with the effects of the disease through a more socially focused arrangement and is informed of and encouraged

to participate in complementary treatment methods along with their medical treatment.

Our current health care environments do not suggest, much less promote, this type of model.

Consider This...

LearnDiagnosis

Patients are informed of the procedures / treatments that will hopefully cure them of cancer. This process is completed through a series of consultations, recommendations, and sellf-education

techniques.

The design of today’s health care environments is primarily focused on the advancement of medical technology and the facilitation of staff efficiency and patient quantity rather than experiential quality. For these reasons, the environments in which we treat those suffering from both acute and chronic illnesses become less focused on the positive experience of thepatient, and more intimidating to the surrounding community in overall physical scale and character.

A cancer center is proposed as a vehicle for reconsidering the scale, design, program, and outreach of medical facilities. Cancer generally requires several consecutive visits to health care facilities and extended periods of treatment per patient, and such facilities can be separate from major hospitals. This presents unique design opportunities to improve the quality of patient experience; maintain the focus on staff efficiency; facilitate community outreach; and promote interaction amongst patients, staff, the surrounding medical community, and the generalpublic.

This project is located in Corryville (Cincinnati), Ohio in order to foster an innovative “urban therapeutic environment” while also preserving the proximity to surrounding medical services. The design responds to the scale of the surrounding area while creating a ‘campus’ that encourages community involvement as well as internal interaction. Easy transitions among the various facility programs, and the use of large public spaces in conjunction with private courtyards and gathering spaces at various scales will create a less intimidating medical environment and a more comforting facility focused on promoting both physical and emotional health.

Mission Statement

A Cancer Research and Rehabilitation Center

URBAN THERAPEUTIC ENVIRONMENT

Exterior Rendering - Central Courtyard

Integrating the medical and social needs of the Corryville

area. Mega-hospital design has dominated the community’s

landscape for years. How can a new type of institution engage

with the surrounding community as well as those seeking medical

care?

Considering the Needs of the Users and the Community

Creating the LEARN - HEAL - LIVE Center

Learn

Live

Live

Heal

Implementing the Program

A Physical Manifestation

Ground Level PlanScale: 1/32”= 1’-0” N̂

-12’-0”0’-0”9’-0”18’-0”27’-0”

39’-0” Roof ElevationLive Program

Parking Level 110 Single Living Units

10 Single Living Units10 Single Living Units10 Single Living Units

Heal Program

-12’-0”

0’-0”

-24’-0”

15’-0”

27’-0”

39’-0”51’-0” Roof Elevation

Parking Level 2

Parking Level 1

Breast Center / Main Lobby / Pharmacy / Radiation Oncology

Examination / Consultation / Research

Chemotherapy / Infusion Therapy / Rehab

Chemotherapy / Infusion Therapy / Exam

Learn Program

-12’-0”

0’-0”

15’-0”

27’-0” Roof Elevation

Parking Level 1

Holistic Health Center / ACS Offices / Community Center / Classrooms

Holistic Health Center / Research Offices

Bu

rnet

Ave.

Hig

hla

nd

Ave.

Donahue St.

Interior Rendering - Community Center

Exterior Rendering - Living Facility and Medical Center

A Connective Strategy

Merging the Various Programs

Implementing a Cohesive Architectural Language

Exterior Column SystemActing as support for the roof structure, a series of arching

columns (steel columns with wood veneer) will be placed (every 10’-0”

OC) along the facade.

They will respond to the the scale of the particular facility to which

they correspond

Parking GarageAccessed o! of Donahue St. to the south

Structural WallCentral support system for the main stariwell along the

southern facade of the medical facilities building. Column systems on either side provide support for the various

"oors and glazing system to the south.

Similar system employed in the residential facilities and Holistic Health Center / Community Center.

Exterior Louver SystemOperable louver system provides the appropriate amount of transparency depending on the types of activities occuring at each level of the medical

building.

With activities such as radiation treatment and imaging occuring at the lower levels and infusion treatment and research occuring on levels 2 through 4, the louvers can be adjusted to allow the desired amount of daylighting in each

space.

Resid

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l Cou

rtya

rd

SECT

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BRE

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FACA

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MED

ICAL

FACI

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0’-0”Shared CourtyardMedical and Residential Units

Access Bridge BeyondConnects the third level of the medical building with

the fourth level of the residential units

Infusion and Research

O#ces

Infusion and Research

O#ces

Exam Rooms and

Consultation Center

Radiation Treatment

and Imaging Center

Parking Garage - Level 1

Accessed o! of Highland Ave.

Parking Garage - Level 2

Accessed o! of Burnet Ave.

SectionScale: 3/32”= 1’-0”

How does the community come to terms

with the realities of cancer and can an architectural

typology aid in this process?

What characteristics of the facility itself

promote social interaction amongst patients? Patients

and visitors? Patients and medical staff?

A comprehensive architectural languagewill be employed that will both establish the institution

under a single goal yet serve to differentiate between the various functions

Private and public spaces will use bothlandscape and architectural design to provide

patients / family / visitors / medical staff a comfortable stay

Tactility and materiality in design willreinforce the positive effects of environment and play

a key role in the psychological and social aspects of the space

Creating the Coral Reef

Defining the Edge

Cincinnati Children’s Medical Facility

University Hospital Emergency Services

University Hematology and

Oncology

University of Cincinnati College of

Medicine

Relationship to UC Medical Campus - Small Scale

Cincinnati Cancer Research and

Rehabilitation Center

Exterior Rendering - Entry Drive off of Burnet Avenue

“To make hospitals more hospitable,

the edges of their campuses should

live like coral reefs - full of energy and

activity pulling neighborhood residents

in rather than shutting them out... so in

addition to

offering traditional treatment, health

care providers in the city have a public

health role to play. Community based

planning should be utilized to produce

hospital programs and services that

address what ails the community, and

not merely what physicians and health

care administrators know how to do.”

A Challenge to Designers...

Wanda Jones - Hospital Reformist

Quote from 1993 Manifesto