A large community hospital with over 100,000 emergency visits annually was challenged with reducing their patient waiting times, and decided to make some critical changes to their process in order to care for their patients. The hospital was certain that the lack of space was the primary cause of the problem, as all exam rooms... Read more »
This article outlines the use of a Lean design process, enabled by simulation modeling, to determine the appropriate size of an emergency department based on current patient volumes and projected patient volumes in 12 years. In its most recent year, the emergency department hosted 67,000 patient visits within 34 exam rooms. Projections estimate that almost... Read more »
Buildings are defined as “green” when specific measures are incorporated to provide healthier environments for their users and mitigate their negative impact on the environment. The practice of green building has caused significant changes in the construction industry, exposing architects to new legal liabilities. The objective of this paper is to investigate, identify and clarify... Read more »
This study was conducted as part of an existing facility evaluation before design of a specialized pediatric clinic in Northern Virginia. The goal of the study was to investigate the positive distraction techniques staff use for pediatric patients during medical visits, and the possible role of the built environment in supporting these techniques. Applicability of each... Read more »
This article outlines the use of process modeling at Perkins+Will to determine the appropriate size of waiting spaces and number of seats for outpatient clinics in a medical office building in the Southeast. Opening in 2013, the building represents an addition of more than 200,000 square feet to the campus. Inputs to the process model included provider schedules,... Read more »
This paper discusses unique design of the Rush University Medical Center Edward A. Brennan Entry Pavilion, specifically focusing on the sustainable strategies considered and investigated during the design as well as the technical aspects. The first part of the article reviews background information about the Rush University Medical Center and its Entry Pavilion, while the... Read more »
It is a commonly held belief that the construction of rail transit systems and more specifically the stations along the system, drives real estate development in the areas they serve. The benefit is seen as a mutual one: high-density development at transit stations and along rail corridors generates the ridership and these systems need to... Read more »
With healthcare facility design trending toward increasing patient space in new construction, there can be concomitant increases in healthcare staff workloads. This study used simple pedometry step counts to compare staff walking effort in double-loaded and racetrack corridor floor plan designs. It was demonstrated that the racetrack floor plan outperformed the double-loaded corridor in human... Read more »
This article discusses a research/teaching collaboration between Perkins+Will and the University of Cincinnati and a unique design studio that was initiated as part of this collaboration. The studio investigated the relationships between performance-driven design, computational design techniques, integration of analysis tools with the design process and digital fabrication for a building facade retrofit. The studio... Read more »
The objective of this paper is to investigate architect’s responsibilities and obligations during construction, resulting in a better understanding of the scope and limits of architects’ services and the risk architects face. Understanding of the architect’s duties is important to establishing reasonable expectations thus reducing exposure to liability. The paper provides a literature review on... Read more »
