| Name: Staci
Romano, IIDA |
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| Firm: OZ Architecture |
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| Client: Boulder Community Foothills Hospital -- Public
Spaces; Boulder, CO |
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Client’s Objectives: Creation of a hospital focusing on
women’s healthcare so that the celebration of new life could be embraced
within a built environment filled with comfort and joy. Design of this resort-like
facility to reflect and respect a woman’s need for nurturing and community,
on a special site that preserved wetlands for nature walks and quiet reflection,
so as to heal the spirit while the body mends. A focus on a family’s needs
during labor, delivery, and pediatrics, while also incorporating a diverse set
of medical services, and, in our environmentally conscious community, becoming
the first hospital in the nation to become LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building
Council. The 250,000 square foot, $42 million project earned a Silver LEED certification
and opened successfully in September of 2003.
Design Solutions: The interior color palette was derived from
a scarf brought from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Boulder’s sister city, by a
hospital VP. From that, the design team developed warm, home-like, surroundings,
reinforcing the theme of a women’s influence throughout. This palette
blends with Boulder’s natural environment – for example two story
columns wrapped with Colorado sandstone flow inside from the outdoors. The Café
offers a variety of seating, from booths to café tops, creating an energizing
yet relaxing place that has the feel of a restaurant with its own brick pizza
oven. The waiting experience is gentled by the use of fireplaces within waiting
rooms. Public areas use commercial furniture in highly durable, but luxurious
fabrics. The design team also incorporated art in the interior architecture,
using multi-colored glass and natural stone mosaics. Boulder Community Hospital
stressed the importance of using local artists, which reinforced the community
focus. With the LEED certification goal, the interiors team took an earth friendly
approach to materials - eco-friendly products were selected for durability that
had to meet the hospital’s strict maintenance requirements.
By bringing all of these qualities together the new hospital has become a singular
place for the local community to heal and rejoice in new life – one that
also preserves and respects Earth’s environment.
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