Design Competition Rethinks the Role of the Hospital

Kaiser Permanente, which has been at the forefront of healthcare innovation since its founding in the 1930s and 40s, recently announced San Bruno, California–based Aditazz and Portland-based Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch (M+NLB), with the New York office of Perkins+Will (P+W) as the winners of its "Small Hospital, Big Idea" competition.

Intended to re-imagine the role and design of 60- to 120-bed hospitals in small communities, "The winners' designs united hospitals with their communities and encouraged healthy activity. M+NLB/P+W's concept envisioned a hospital that transitions from a "sick care" to a "total health" environment, with outdoor plazas and public spaces. The team's wellness pavilion is a highly glazed public concourse located above a rehabilitated desert landscape, creating a "beacon" of healthy civic and community behavior," explains Brasuell.