Attendees at the New York Design Center experienced a rewarding journey last Wednesday. The New York office of HOK arrived with five senior participants to talk about their soon-to-be-completed Patient Pavilion for the Harlem Hospital. HOK’s patient-centered care design integrates inpatient, emergency room, and outpatient services under one roof. The new Patient Pavilion uses art, light, and color in a therapeutic manner that engages the greater community as well as the patients.
After an introduction of the third installment of NYDC’s Design 4 Healthcare series by Chris Korsch, Regional Leader of Healthcare for HOK, Mr. Korsch presented Henry Chao, a Principal at HOK. Mr. Chao set the tone for the evening with a quote from Mozart: “Patience and tranquility of the mind contribute more to cure our distempers than arts or medicine.” Mr. Chao’s offered examples of how the mind-body connection for healing and cultural expression by using space also had a connection with public art. He showed the integration of art with architecture and the importance of intertwining interior and exterior themes, especially as it pertained to the subject at hand—activating public space by using artistic form. Mr. Chao then compared the previous creative examples to a typical example of an American hospital. “For a long time, large hospitals in this country focused on research for medicine and technology. Each building appears to be interchangeable.” Indeed, many of the hospital project examples he showed were not site specific. They could have been located anywhere. He then compared that to a more European model which has a “strong connection with community; people go there not because they are sick, but to stay healthy.”
Director of Healthcare Research, Nick Watkins, HOK’s “why and how” guy, explained how he found connections between community and healing for this project. He spoke about the environmental psychology that went into the design of the hospital and offered a compelling overview of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., as a comparative tool. “Environments that cause us to exert and contemplate ourselves are good,” said Dr. Watkins. “Providing a sensory experience paired with a subjective experience sets up a poetic for the community to walk through.” Mr. Watkins started to make a case that, for the Harlem Hospital, the place is the journey. By emphasizing an awareness of a history and the message of hope, it will bring the community to a healing process.
To view the full article, please visit officeinsight