With its bold colors and four-square window patterns, Alberta Children's Hospital presents a striking, offbeat image in Calgary, Canada. Yet the design solution is by no means arbitrary: it responds directly to the needs of its young patients.
 
Based on the results of several daylong design sessions conducted in 2002 with children as young as eight, the architects scrapped their initial scheme for a brick building. What emerged was a colorful, modern composition resembling stacked toy blocks, which contains a brightly illuminated setting for delivering world-class care.
 
"It's extraordinary how candid chronically ill children can be," recalls Milton Gardner, principal and head of the healthcare studio for the Canadian firm, Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning. In the design workshops, he says, "The kids told us they thought hospitals were dark and boring."
 
This led the designers to focus on creating a comforting yet stimulating environment, with carefully tuned acoustics and abundant fresh air. Large private rooms with perimeter windows were conceived to accommodate the planned 128 beds. Unique amenities were integrated into the program, such as a pet room, healing gardens, and family-oriented facilities. Most important to the environment of care was the extensive glazing desired to bring copious daylight into all patient areas and medical settings, too.
 
Yet the desire for light -- and glazing -- never interfered with Kasian concept and their client's goal to minimize energy use. Two-thirds of the building is clad in triple-glazed panels for optimal thermal performance, and occupancy sensors control lighting in all interior spaces. "We used glass extensively, even in the operating rooms and in interstitial spaces," says Gardner. "This gives a visual break for the surgeons, and we know that sunlight is good for you."
 
To control glare and heat gain, the architects specified motorized fabric roller shades from Hunter Douglas Contract, integrated with sun-tracking software to automatically raise and lower the blinds. A simple override allows patients to draw the shades as needed, or for surgeons to reduce lumen levels during laser surgery and other light-sensitive procedures.
 
"Views and light are very important to us philosophically," Gardner explains of Kasian's design approach. "And this building has great view of the Rockies." Supporting their architectural concept, the sun-tracking software proactively adjusts to maximize natural light and views. The system calculates a "glare-control zone" based on the angle of solar incidence and the use of the space, and the shade retracts or extends accordingly.
 
Other features of the hospital also responded to the desires of child patients and their relatives. The family-friendly inpatient rooms, for example, feature pullout beds, a privacy curtain, wardrobe, and a medical cabinet to be shared by patients and visitors. An art studio and a radio/television broadcast system are dedicated to patient use.
 
Perhaps most unusual is a special pet visiting room, added in response to children's desires to have their pets and animals nearby. Kasian designed the pet area as a separate vestibule with two entrances, one from inside the hospital and one from outside the hospital. The space is behind an air lock under negative ventilation to protect others. In this way, the patient's pets never enter the hospital proper, but the patients can enjoy the therapeutic and emotional benefit of visiting them without actually leaving the hospital environment.
 
The overall massing of the hospital reflects its efficient organization. Operations are divided into three main areas: ambulatory care, with medical offices and clinics; an inpatient unit tower; and a diagnostic-and-treatment block. Each portion has its own structured mechanical systems, and each is served by covered, heated parking. In its master plan, Kasian provides for future lateral expansion that avoids disruptions and eliminates the need for shutdown during construction.
 
More important to the kids, however, is the built-in commitment to reducing stress and promoting healing. The 750,000-square-foot hospital expands on the concept of family-centered care by including a babysitting service, a meditation chapel, and healing gardens in the landscaping surrounding the new building.
 
From its outward image to its internal organization, the facility is an instructive case study. Kasian and their client show how to best to determine patient needs and provide an architectural solution that directly addresses those psychological and physical health factors. What underlies the design is a serious effort to understand the child's view of healthcare. The resulting expression and amenities contribute to making a place that is most comfortable for the primary stakeholders: the patients.
 
Experience suggests that the design team's hard work and commitment paid off. "The building opened on the 27th of September," Gardner says. "And the nurses reported that the children slept all through the night."