Gresham Smith Healthcare Projects Win 2019 AIA Middle Tennessee Design Awards
Gresham Smith is proud to announce that two healthcare projects received awards from AIA Middle Tennessee. The firm’s design for UP Health System – Marquette, a Duke LifePoint hospital, won an Honor Award and the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology Franklin Drug Development Unit earned a Citation Award. Both projects used evidence-based design principles to create human-centric, healing spaces. The firm accepted the awards at AIA Middle Tennessee’s Celebration of Architecture on October 29.
“These award-winning projects are a testament to our team’s commitment to delivering tailored solutions that support better health outcomes. Both facilities presented interesting challenges—Marquette required creative solutions for siting and context. Sarah Cannon needed to merge office, research and treatment space while helping patients feel supported,” said Jim Langlois, executive vice president, Gresham Smith. “I am proud that both design teams have been recognized by AIA Middle Tennessee for their deep understanding of client and patient needs.”
UP Health System – Marquette is located in one of the snowiest cities in the United States. The 229-bed, 565,000-square-foot replacement hospital campus was designed with efficiency, the unique climate/site and Marquette’s historic past in mind. Built adjacent to the central business district on a brownfield site, the patient tower overlooks an ore dock; a nod to the city’s history as a mining town, and provides views of the Great Lakes. It was sited to maximize energy consumption, as well as better address prevailing winter winds and prevent snow drifts in high-traffic areas. While evoking the region’s organic beauty, the exterior marries modern materials with local rhythms to balance Duke LifePoint’s desire for a facility that reflects the cutting-edge, technology-driven care provided within. The interior features a calming color palette, ample daylight, and intuitive wayfinding to put both patients and visitors at ease.
The Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology Franklin Drug Development Unit brings world-class cancer care closer to home in a calming, comfortable space for patients facing cancer. The 12,000-square-foot treatment and research facility is bright and modern, reflecting the organization’s innovative approach to quality care. For example, a new research-backed concept, known as the community hub, is an open treatment area that allows patients receiving oral treatments to wait in the company of others, creating additional social support. The facility also houses private and semi-private treatment spaces, a pharmacy designed to the new USP 800 standard, a large nurse work room and corporate offices/research space.
The AIA Design Awards Program strives to recognize projects that represent the best of Middle Tennessee architecture; projects that are exemplary for their thoughtful, sustainable, innovative, and well-crafted design. With juries composed of highly-qualified professionals offering diverse perspectives and expertise, all submissions are reviewed in the context of the project team’s goals and evaluated for thoughtfully designed resolution of those goals.