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SmithGroup's plans for San Francisco's new hospital brings 21st century care to an urban setting
Cathedral Hill Hospital design is motivated by client’s aspiration for best tertiary and quantiary healthcare facility. The facility’s essence lies in how it will be used by patients and staff. The structure balances integrity, functionality, and sustainability.
Integrated Project Delivery supports client expectations and ambitious budget goals. The project team – designers, contractors, consultants – works side by side in a dedicated office space near the campus.
Innovations in design, building systems and sustainability have been overarching principles to achieve these goals. Innovative solutions include using viscous wall dampers for seismic concerns, displacement ventilation for mechanical efficiency, and four-sided structurally sealed curtain wall systems.
A tower and podiums constitute building massing. Hierarchy between the structures create a building silhouette which relates to both the immediate neighbourhood context and the broader urban core. The building skin is primarily metal and glass, supporting a vision of a sophisticated, modern healthcare facility in a vibrant urban community.
The streetscape design reflects public space surrounding the hospital. Composed of distinct activity zones, each has an individual need, requiring a specific design response. Widened sidewalks expand the
pedestrian realm, resulting in improved quality and function of street frontages.
Interior elements like public lounges, concourses and waiting areas break the monotonous rhythms
required in hospital planning. Interior architecture throughout the project has a welcome, pleasant and
comfortable feel, in tune with the client’s commitment to their role in medicine and healing.
Sustainable practices are at the forefront of design to minimise water and energy use in the building’s
life cycle. The exterior will feature green roofs to treat and reduce storm water runoff and energy use.
Accessible to patients and staff, the roofs will promote healing and an environmental connection.
The proposed Cathedral Hill Hospital is designed to be in tune with both present and future healthcare
needs.
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