editor’s note
modern medicine
T
he question, “How do we design for healing?” is being replaced by the question, “How do we design for health?” That, in the end, is what green building is all about—healthy buildings that keep our planet healthy, too. So, both builders and doctors are seeing that prescriptions and treatment are only small pieces of the healthcare pie. “Our society is really only now beginning to embrace the idea of holistic medicine,” says Duda Paine Architects founder Turan Duda in our cover story (p. 76). “Universally, we’re finding more and more ways in which we realize there is a ‘whole’ person.” What role do architects and builders play in this realization? In our feature, six studios answer that question. CO Architects is working on a breathtaking, nature-laden “hospital of the future” (p. 84). Duda Paine designed a space where alternative and traditional medicine can formally interact for the first time in history (p. 78). And Montgomery Sisam Architects engaged the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction with a communityoriented rehabilitation center in Toronto (p. 80). Throughout the issue are other signals of the sea change in healthcare design. Rafael Viñoly Architects’ suspended, undulating Institute of Regenerative Medicine (p. 144) is a miracle of modern medicine and design—and possibly one of the most incredible projects we’ve featured in gb&d. Elsewhere, Eugenia Orr takes us inside RHAA’s landscape design for the Marin Health & Wellness Campus (p. 68), the charming Rick Ames talks in his own words about an atrium designed to be the “heart and lungs” of an eldercare facility (p. 20), and D2 Architecture describes its Sleepover Project, which asks architects to live in senior-living communities for 24 hours in order to better understand the programmatic needs of residents and staff (p. 30).
Exposure to plants, fresh air, and sunlight may now be seen as a vital part of healing, but it’s long been the case in a good deal of religions, including in many Eastern practices. On p. 91, Canadian architect Christopher Simmonds talks to gb&d about his belief that life springs from a single source and how that affects his design approach. Kaleena Thompson writes, “Fascinated by religious studies, gardens, and the arts, Simmonds says he’d probably be a monk tending to the gardens if he wasn’t an architect.” We also have an inside look at Buro Happold’s new offices, courtesy of Lyn Rice Architects (p. 96), and two discussions on how BIM is changing the profession. Suzanne Napier, the head of Research and Learning at SmithGroup (which gets a shout-out from Rafael Viñoly Architects on p. 146) discusses BIM’s uses in laboratory design (p. 24). And Alan Oakes examines it in the context of Finland’s Kirnu Pavilion (p. 26). No doubt BIM will also help propel the already vigorous transformation of healthcare design. It is always wise to look back, to draw from the past and learn from those who went before us. But in this issue of gb&d, change is good. It is building a more sustainable world. PHOTO: Samantha Hunter.
Regards,
Timothy A. Schuler Features Editor
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