Health & Wellness

WVU Medicine Orthopedic Hospital Entry Addition

Scope

New Construction
Renovations

Location

Charleston, WV

size

1,015 Conditioned SF
3,660 Covered SF

Undergoing a change in ownership and a transformation into a new orthopedic hospital, the former St. Francis Hospital was implementing a series of departmental reorganizations and interior renovations, designed by others. As a part of this restructuring, the admissions department – the first programmatic destination of the patient experience – was relocated to the interior corner of the existing main courtyard, removed from the existing understated entry canopy.

Our design team was engaged to re-imagine a new entry element for the rebranded campus. The owner’s vision for this element was to be contextual and compatible with the surrounding facilities, while introducing an appropriately relevant, refreshed character.

The design is responsive to the team’s site and building analysis and project constraints. There is a clear acknowledgement of the new position of the admissions department in relationship to the public and staff parking garage and the processional entrance of pedestrians and vehicles into the site.

The project parti emphasizes a strong linear axis, perpendicular to the courtyard approach, maximizing the very small lobby addition’s campus and architectural impact while reaching out to engage patients with covered walkway, gathering, and drop-off areas.

While the scale, geometry, and rhythms of the new element are responsive to the campus vocabulary, the design introduces an elegance, richness, and layering to the more utilitarian language of the existing hospital.

The design effort exhibits a clarity, rigor, and restraint that is grounded in the simple idea of the project and illustrates a level of design sensitivity and care for the smallest of programs and scope.