Wayne Healthcare

This project includes a three-story hospital expansion that focuses on wellness and community connections. During the landscape design process, careful consideration was taken to provide strong interior/exterior connections that create a welcoming campus atmosphere. The design also had to accommodate a future medical office building as well as future parking lots and pocket parks.

Taking cues from the building, the site is intersected by a curved road that reflects the building curvature and directs patients to a drop-off at the main entry. A bisecting walk stretches from the main entry and extends all the way through the parking lot to the perimeter sidewalk. This creates a promenade, clearly defining the entry as well as connects the expansion to the surrounding area. The joint pattern of this walk mimics the tile pattern within the building, reinforcing the interior/exterior connections.

On the first floor are new birthing rooms with exterior views. To maintain these views while preventing outside users from seeing in, a narrow courtyard was designed with an evergreen hedge, ornamental trees, and other plantings. The courtyard is edged by a low seat wall with a custom fence on top that creates privacy for expecting mothers while providing seating opportunities for patients outside the courtyard.

Tucked between the existing hospital and the expansion is a south-facing courtyard. In the crook of the courtyard is a tree-covered patio, that acts as an outdoor café or seating. Walks and paver bands intersect the space, extending building lines into the landscape while connecting parking and exterior doorways for more direct access when navigating the building. One-half of the courtyard is heavily landscaped while the other half is turfed. This lawn area is adjacent to synthetic turf located within the physical rehab area on the interior of the building, once again reinforcing the interior/exterior relationship. Doors lead directly from the rehab center to the courtyard to allow patients to take their recovery to the outdoors.