Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/687429
J UNE 2016 | 71 Women's College Hospital Redevelopment RENDERING + PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA JALALI/COURTESY INFRASTRUCTURE ONTARIO Women's College Hospital Redevelopment by ROBIN BRUNET E xtensive public consultation has become the norm for institutional building projects – but, understandably, with the ultimate aim of soliciting approval rather than seeking in-depth design input. However, this concept was turned on its head with regard to the Women's College Hospital in downtown Toronto, which, after providing almost a century of research and care in women's health, announced in 2010 that it had signed a contract with Women's College Partnership (the project team) to design, build, finance, and maintain the facility's redevelopment. Women's College Hospital worked closely with Infrastructure Ontario to plan and deliver this Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) project. Described as a hospital intended to keep people out of hospital, the $460-million LEED Silver redevelopment is a state-of-the-art, 420,000-square- foot L-shaped reinforced concrete nine-storey structure and a two- storey steel-frame pavilion fronting Grenville Street. The rebuilt facility focuses on consolidating primary care, chronic disease management, surgical services, diagnostics, and mental health programs, all delivered on an ambulatory and out-patient basis. The new hospital is also dedicated to advances in women's research, care and education. From the outset, Infrastructure Ontario and the hospital board stressed that the new facility would be designed differently than any other hospital, with a singular focus on catering to the way different women lead their lives, and informed by enormous input from women across Ontario to determine what the project should consist of. CannonDesign was brought in as part of the compliance design team who reviewed the documents for functionality and adherence to the design guidelines. Leading the design team was Susan Black, partner with Perkins Eastman, in a 50/50 joint venture with IBI Group Architects, the architects of record working for the project team. "Amongst other objectives, the hospital wanted to increase its physical presence and engagement within the community and to maximize future flexibility and adaptability in response to evolving healthcare delivery," says David Wood, associate for IBI. "This was achieved through the unique facility massing and exterior cladding of feature elements, as well as modular planning of multi-use exam/treatment rooms, planning of modules to allow generic use of different care teams, and careful planning of vertical shafts to achieve unobstructed floor plates." But the most memorable aspect of the design came from the objective of providing a relaxing, calming ambiance and truly making this a hospital for women of all backgrounds. Hence, no less than 1,000 women were interviewed over a two year period, according to hospital president and CEO Marilyn Emery; based on their input, design elements such as privacy, safety, flexible family eating areas with diverse food options, open spaces with curved walls and staircases, and accessibility became big priorities. This input was particularly inspirational for Black, whose involvement with the project dates back to 2008. "The ideas generated by the input were both practical as well as creative," she says. "For example, indigenous women talked of mother earth, and this led to me putting a split boulder in the atrium space to honour the concept of gaia and serve as a unique visual feature." Black describes her work as, "Applying multiple layers of design elements to complement architectural components that were equally inspired by the input from end users: for example, an auditorium with curved display walls in some ways resembles a womb and is augmented with a backdrop curtain made of chicken wire and intertwining fabric ribbons. Another example would be a cultural wall accompanying the atrium staircase, which on the first level is a hand-made ode to quilting – with many of the women we interviewed having helped apply the fabric." While these "layers" would help create the all-important visual texture and welcoming ambiance, the architects, owners, and other groups worked hard to determine the optimum physical structure of the new hospital. "Initially the design resembled a square donut, but thanks to lots of input from the design team and builders, this eventually evolved into a L-shaped building with the tower of the L containing clinical functions and the lower part of the L containing public spaces and administration," says Wood. This arrangement of functions was dictated largely by practical considerations: David Steiner, Infrastructure Ontario project manager for Women's College Hospital, explains that phase one of the project would consist of demolition of an old apartment building on site to create the extra space required for the new facility. "The clinical tower and all work was constructed by a partnership between The Walsh Group and Bondfield Construction. This was followed by the existing hospital being vacated and moved into the new facility, followed by phase two LOCATION 76 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario OWNER Women's College Hospital AGENCY RESPONSIBLE Infrastructure Ontario ARCHITECTS Perkins Eastman / IBI Group Architects Inc. (joint venture); CannonDesign (compliance) DBFMO CONTRACTOR The Walsh Group / Bondfield Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT CH2M Hill MECHANICAL CONSULTANT The Mitchell Partnership ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Mulvey & Banani LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT Janet Rosenberg & Studio TOTAL SIZE 420,000 square feet TOTAL COST $460 million 3:24 PM