STRONG SYMBOLS
The Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota joint brand for the new service line had to be carried through all three Twin Cities locations, but each project needed to relate to its specific surroundings. St. Paul is renowned for its tree gardens, and Robertson used the images of flowering trees to engender a sense of beauty and comfort in United Hospital’s Mother Baby Center and to define entrances into the patient rooms.
In the NICU’s waiting lobby, a custom tree form greets visitors as a symbol of strength, growth and hope. Robertson worked with an artist to bring whimsy into the NICU, using playful creatures (a fish, bird, bunny and ladybug) as wayfinding elements. “I was pregnant during these projects, which allowed me to see through the eyes of the patient. It actually changed the way I thought about design,” Robertson recalls. “Health care is typically modeled around disease, but being pregnant is not a disease. These spaces purposefully aren’t sterile, yet they showcase the top-notch care that this facility offers.”
ART INTO ARCHITECTURE
Sculptural ceiling ribbons fan out from the nurses’ stations to direct patients to points of care. A soft, flowing ribbon carved into the floor guides families to the Mother Baby Center, and whimsical star cutouts align with the ribbon to lead visitors to the NICU entry. The ribbons’ organic shapes are abstract forms that mimic the opening of flowers and, in turn, represent the Mother Baby Center’s logo. “We wanted to incorporate art into the architecture rather than have it be applied after the fact,” Robertson says.
Although the original labor and delivery corridor was an awkward angular space, the remodel retained the walls in the new postpartum area. A creative solution at two corridor intersections was needed, so HDR fashioned respite spaces for families out of beautifully curved sculptural glass. Designers used the same sculptural glass in a flat application as family bistro area dividers in the labor and delivery department.
Large, oval sculptural ceiling features call attention to specific spaces in the corridors and mirror the crescent moon form in the brand’s logo. Additional colorful ceiling ovals in the patient rooms offer the added benefit of creat- ing a positive distraction over patient beds. “The ovals are also an abstract representation of a flower’s center,” Robertson explains. “They give mothers something colorful to look at and seem to tenderly embrace the patient.”
COLOR AND LIGHT
Robertson strategically placed color throughout the project. “We wanted to make it feminine, inviting and calming,” she says. “We used vibrant colors paired with soft, warm wood tones to balance color, texture and light.” In the Mother Baby Center, specific colors define each area: raspberry marks labor and delivery; the postpartum area is detailed in deep, sapphire blue; and violet delineates the antepartum area. Yellow, the joint venture’s brand color, characterizes the entryway and public waiting space. A pop of color on the patient-room walls is lit from within to frame each bed.
All of the lighting is soft, defining the mood for the facility and reflecting Robertson’s vision for the patient experience. “We want the patients to have control and be comforted along their journey. For example, there are no direct lights in the ceiling, so patients on a gurney won’t have to stare into harsh lights above,” she says.
The control panel in the patient bed allows the mother to operate numerous systems, includ- ing the dimmable accent light, the over-the-bed exam light and the window’s motorized roller shades. Family members can control the lighting directly above the sofa in the room’s family zone, as well. Custom-lit elements in the main areas provide indirect lighting at the desk and ceilings to reinforce the sense of a tree canopy.
Robertson infused the design with elements she thought every mother deserves. “I’m so pleased this project provides a sophisticated environment with all of the comforts of home, the amenities of a five-star hotel and access to state-of-the-art technology and world-class health care for both mother and child.”
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT AND INTERIOR DESIGN: HDR (Minneapolis Design Studio), Minneapolis
- Michael Nelson, project architect and manager
- Julie Robertson, interior design practice leader
- Cyndi McCullough, director of evidence-based design
- Trevor Hollins, lighting design studio lead
- Kyle Lacek, designer
- Carolyn Hagmann, architectural coordinator
STRUCTURAL AND MEP CONSULTANT: HDR
- MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Tim Willoughby, John Martin
- ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Andrew Roche, Chad Harrill
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: McGough Construction, St. Paul, Minn.
OWNER: The Mother Baby Center at United Hospital and Children’s Minnesota, St. Paul
OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE: Parsons, Pasadena, Calif.
Materials
CEILINGS: Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions
CARPET: Interface and Mohawk
ENGINEERED QUARTZ FABRICATION: Cambria
SPECIALTY GLASS: Nathan Allan Glass
LINOLEUM: Forbo
PAINT: Sherwin-Williams
LAMINATE: Formica
TERRAZZO: Twin City Tile & Marble
TILE: RBC Tile and Stone
CUSTOM WALL GRAPHICS: Designtex
CUSTOM WALL COVERING: D.L. Couch
WALL PROTECTION: CS Group, Acrovyn
PHOTOS: courtesy of HDR, ©2017 Corey Gaffer