IIDA 2024 Healthcare Design Awards Honors Shepley Bulfinch
Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston by Shepley Bulfinch. Photo by Robert Benson.
Shepley Bulfinch was honored with a prestigious design award for their work on Boston Children’s Hospital’s Hale Family Building in the International Interior Design Association’s 2024 Healthcare Design Awards in the Pediatric Hospital category. The 11-story, 550,000-sf Hale Family Building strengthens the hospital’s commitment to children, family and pediatrics by enabling enhanced, more efficient care for the benefit of patients, families, and the teams who deliver and support that care.
“We are honored to receive this recognition for our work with Boston Children’s,” says Uma Ramanathan, FAIA, LEED AP. “Shepley Bulfinch has partnered with Boston Children’s for over 100 years, and we are proud to have been able to continue our partnership with the Hale Family Building project.”
The Hale Family Building was designed to address critical capacity needs at the hospital and enhance pediatric care delivery. Situated in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, one of the nation’s leading medical communities, the project presented several key design challenges which the design team solved for, including:
Green Space
Situated in the dense urban environment of the Longwood Medical Area, the building needed to creatively supplement existing greenspace on the hospital’s main campus. A necklace of vertical indoor and outdoor green spaces integrated with clinical spaces is a defining design element.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The comprehensive and integrated Heart Center required the design team to optimize operational efficiency across multiple stakeholder groups and locations to create spaces that foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Designers, along with 200 clinicians and staff, participated in a 40,000-sf “Cardboard City” simulation exercise.
Patient and Staff Well-being
Designing space that promotes healing, comfort, and well-being for both patients and staff was paramount. To achieve this the design team found ways to maximize access to daylight, create private patient rooms, and integrate green spaces adjacent to clinical spaces. Interior “winter gardens” provide staff, patients and families with year-round access to greenspaces and daylight, as well as a place of respite away from the clinical environment.
Innovative Design
The project’s design needed to push the boundaries of pediatric care to create a healing oasis within the hospital campus, enhance wayfinding, and improve the overall patient experience. “Ground to sky” themed interactive art installations by over 20 different artists and art groups give patients a reprieve, especially acute-level patients who are in the hospital for extended stays, and aid in wayfinding.
Sustainability and Resilience
Ensuring the building was high-performing and resilient was crucial to the project. Sustainably sourced, low-emitting materials, high-performance glazing, and a 35% reduction in water usage are among many sustainable strategies implemented.
“The Hale Family Building is a testament to years of dedication and collaboration,” says SueEllen Donahoe, LEED AP, EDAC, senior director, Facility Planning & Space Management, Boston Children’s Hospital. “The Hale Family Building was transformative for the hospital, and it will have a lasting impact for patient care and experience.”
Mikyoung Kim Design acted as the landscape architect for both interior and exterior gardens.
