DLR Group Hailed for Excellence in Design for Inpatient Bed Tower

By Roxanne Squires

AVON, Ohio — Each year, Cleveland Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Cleveland) recognizes exceptional designs by inviting local firms to submit their best work to be reviewed by nationally renowned juries from all over the country. This year, DLR Group|Westlake Reed Leskosky was recognized with five design awards including the Cleveland Clinic Avon Inpatient bed tower.

The newly awarded project includes a 250,000-square-foot inpatient bed tower addition to an existing family health and ambulatory surgical center.

The master plan called of the project called for the expansion of a second bed tower and related support spaces.

DLR Group|Westlake Reed Leskosky provided process mapping, medical programming and planning, architecture, structural engineering, and interior design.

The project created a total of 126 inpatient beds, 14 medical/surgical patient rooms, 12 intensive care beds, two new operating rooms, a pharmacy, a processing lab, dietary services, and an expansion of the emergency and imaging departments.

The balance of the building included patient support services, general support services, diagnostic and interventional programs.

The Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital, ultimately envisioned as the “Hospital of the Future,” leverages flexibility and technology while incorporating an interdisciplinary team approach to both medicine and services.

Simultaneous to design, medical staff developed a workflow process to coordinate with interdisciplinary teaming, e-hospital, and the technological advancements.

The collaborative design, which is informed by process mapping of patient, material, and support services, results in a 15 percent reduction of space compared to an average acute care hospital in the United States.

According to DLR group, visioning sessions involving enterprise leaders and a PhD researcher in the analysis of multiple mockups of patient rooms led to the final selection of a same-handed room configuration. Within the room, the patient conveniently controls lighting and temperature, as well as personal information systems through an interactive television.

The careful use of acoustic treatments and enclosure of the interdisciplinary work stations enables a quiet patient environment. An acuity adaptable room is configured within the same module to address intensive care requirements.

“These AIA Cleveland Design Awards are the result of our firm’s multidisciplinary model of integrated design, with people collaborating across disciplines and studios,” said DLR Group Senior Principal and Global Cultural+Performing Arts Leader Paul Westlake, FAIA. “We are thrilled to be recognized as a design leader in Cleveland, as well as across the country and the world.”