ARCHITECT: Taliesin Architects, Scottsdale, Arizona. Stephen Nemtin, Project Architect
CLIENT: Sun Health Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona
CONSTRUCTION: Reinforced masonry, stucco, glass, steel, canvas canopy in courtyard
COMPLETED: 1997
INPATIENT BEDS: 12
SITE/PARKING: 3.1 acres/24
This hospice, located on the campus of an Alzheimer’s Care Centre in a suburb of Phoenix, expresses the severe horizontality of its semi-arid desert site, and its materiality. It is exemplary in terms of its critical regionalism. An informal scale is achieved through the building’s low-slung silhouette: it functions as a coun- terpoint to the vast desert sky of the American Southwest (Fig. 5.7.1). The imagery evokes the indigenous residential dwellings
of the desert region, through the use of stucco, and compressed roofs with extended eaves. Maximum shading from the intense sunlight is achieved through the orientation, rhythm, and propor- tioning of the window apertures. This was done in order to con- serve energy, and the vertical orientation of the windows simultaneously affords full height views of the ubiquitous desert landscape, with the patient able to see at once the desert floor, the myriad species of fauna, and the blue sky. The colors, specif- ically, evoke those of the ubiquitous desert floor. Twelve single- bed inpatient rooms are provided, configured as a diamond in plan, each with a private bath/shower room. Each patient room has space to accommodate family members for overnight stays. The bedrooms are entered from the corridor along interior glass- enclosed garden court perimeter corridors.
A diamond-shaped garden court, shaded by a tensile fabric canopy, is the symbolic heart of the hospice (Fig. 5.7.2). Its land- scaping consists of bamboo and a variety of indigenous plant
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5.6.7 Patient bedrooms open directly onto the garden and a winding brick path. As with the majority of U.S. hospices, the doorways of the ground level rooms and the adjoining exterior spaces are large enough to accommodate beds as well as wheelchairs
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5.7.1 Sun Health Hospice, Scottsdale, Arizona, exterior view. Its desert context gave rise to an inventive expression of the indigenous vernacular traditions of the American Southwest
5.7.2 Triangulated in plan, connected to a support wing, the hospice is dominated by a central courtyard/atrium. All patient bedrooms are private, with private baths situated inboard, adjacent to the single-loaded corridor loop. A single nurses’ station serves the twelve inpatient rooms. The main entry is at the midsection, at the intersection of the support wing and the patient housing wing
species. Patient rooms open onto this space (Fig. 5.7.3). Full height glass sidelights are provided at the inpatient bedroom threshold, thereby affording the patient a view into the garden court (Fig. 5.7.4). Patient beds can be rolled out into the space. Natural wood finishes are employed throughout, and donated works of art, including a series of aerial photos of the desert land- scape, are prominently displayed. The artwork is seen at first as abstract, but upon closer inspection one realizes nature is depicted in the process of self-healing (Fig. 5.7.5). A central nurses’ station allows for direct access to each patient’s room and transparency characterizes the relationship between this activity center and the fabric-roofed garden court (Fig. 5.7.6). No central dining area is provided: a café and adjoining kitchen are provided for family members and inpatients, free to prepare meals on an informal basis at any hour. A quiet room is provided for solace and privacy. The arrival and reception wing contains administra- tive and support space, including a conference room, medical offices, bereavement counseling, and a break room with a small garden.
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5.7.3 The color and material palettes of the desert floor were integral to the hospice’s architectural vocabulary. This was expressed throughout the façade, as the windows are deeply set inward behind thick masonry piers in an A/B/A/B rhythm. A lightweight tensile fabric structure with steel tension cables sheathes the courtyard/atrium, thereby encouraging patients and others to venture outdoors. The low roof profile responds to the slight amount of annual rainfall in the region as much as to the vastness of the desert landscape
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5.7.4 Interior of the courtyard/atrium. A winding path connects two doors to the interior realm. Heightened transparency is achieved between the interior and this outdoor-indoor ‘room’. This is reinforced by diffused light from above. Desert fauna, low in scale, are featured
5.7.5 View from a patient bedroom to the central courtyard/atrium, as seen from across the single- loaded corridor. Note the slope of the ceiling, the full height side window, and privacy curtain
5.7.6 A nurses’ station, triangular in configuration, with charting counters and sink for handwashing. Two storage supply closets flank an open workspace. A large picture window affords visual surveillance of the courtyard/atrium. Note the full height glass along the corridor
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Hospice LaGrange, LaGrange, Georgia
ARCHITECT: Nix Mann and Perkins and Will, Atlanta, Georgia. Ila Burdette, Project Architect
CLIENT: West Georgia Medical Center
CONSTRUCTION: Reinforced concrete, masonry, wood, steel, laminated wood beams
COMPLETED: 1996
INPATIENT BEDS: 16
SITE/PARKING: 3.8 acres/34
Hospice LaGrange houses a sixteen-bed inpatient hospice and a home care program. It is located on the campus of the West Georgia Medical Center. Its materiality and scale evoke the indigenous frame farmhouse structures of rural West Georgia. Exterior walls are stained cedar shingles, set atop a broken field- stone base, with white Arts and Crafts period wood trim, and grey asphalt roof shingles. Large fieldstone fireplaces provide the focal point in the reception area and in the four living rooms.
Clerestory windows, French doors, and vaulted wood beam ceil- ings are provided in inpatient rooms, living rooms, and in the main reception area of the administrative wing (Fig. 5.8.1). Upon arrival visitors enter the administrative wing and core social areas of the hospice, leading to a walkway connecting the four resi- dences, which function, architecturally, as autonomous ‘farm- houses’ (Fig. 5.8.2).
The patient housing consists of four clusters of four beds each, adjoining a living room-dayroom (Fig. 5.8.3). These spaces have fireplaces and semi-enclosed porches quite similar to those of a typical private residence in the American South (Fig. 5.8.4). Each patient room has double doors, thereby providing access for beds to be wheeled outdoors. A trellis, planted with clematis and jasmine, reinforces the exterior spaces between the various build- ings. An existing pecan grove is threaded by a wandering trail. Benches, bird feeders, wind chimes, and planting beds are pro- vided. The long, institutional, double-loaded corridors of hospi- tals and nursing homes were eschewed because the architect’s
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5.8.1 Hospice LaGrange, LaGrange, Georgia, looks like a rural village. This view is looking toward two of the group home residences
site visits to other hospices revealed that dayrooms at the end of a long hallway often remained unused. In response, circulation paths are enlivened with window seats and visual connections to social activity spaces (Fig. 5.8.5). Inpatient rooms are equipped with a fold-out bed for family members’ use, residential furnish- ings, natural materials and finishes, a sense of spaciousness,
incandescent lighting, warm colors, ceiling fans, and independ- ent thermostats. Medical gasses and oxygen outlets are con- cealed. Cabinets provide shelf space for books, pictures, and personal items (Fig. 5.8.6).
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I N N O V A T I O N S I N H O S P I C E A R C H I T E C T U R E
5.8.2 Four inpatient units clustered around a central courtyard, connected via an enclosed circulation spine. The main arrival area is in the administration and home care program building, shown at the left. A circular drive and parking area adjoin the main entrance
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C A S E S T U D I E S
5.8.3 Each residence, in plan, consists of four private inpatient bedrooms configured around a living room and an adjoining porch. Each pair of bedrooms shares a second patio, with direct access to the bedroom. The inboard side of the residences houses patient support, including a kitchen and dining area, hydrotherapy room, dayroom, and laundry. A meditation room is located at the end of the administration building, with a circular outdoor patio with a screen wall. Also shown are three of the architects’ conceptual diagrams, depicting the overall parti and circulation
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5.8.4 (above) The main living room of a typical residence, with its centerpiece stone fireplace, wood mantel, color banding, high-set windows in the walls, vaulted ceiling, and hardwood flooring. Full height glass doors open onto the adjoining exterior patio. Note the absence of a television. Televisions, as is typical in most American hospices, are provided in the bedrooms and dayrooms
5.8.5 (above right) One of three window alcoves situated along the outer edge at the 45-degree bends in the enclosed circulation spine. The exterior view is of a typical open-air, covered, semi-private patio adjoining two inpatient bedrooms
5.8.6 Inpatient bedrooms feature a coffered ceiling, ceiling fan, built-in wall storage/shelving, a television and an audio system, plants, bedside table, and artwork. Furnishings open to convert to beds for use by family and others. As is typical in most hospices, no hospital-like beds or headboard gasses are visible. These elements are best concealed in a wall, hidden from view. Also, overhead fluorescent light fixtures are to be eschewed in free- standing hospices