NATURAL BEAUTYPacific Northwest hospital embodies its surroundingsArticle by Amy Eagle • Photography by Doug J. Scott

St. Anthony Hospital, designed by the Seattle office of ZGF Architects LLP, is thefirst built in Gig Harbor, Wash. The town’s location on Puget Sound makes emer-gency transportation to other areas difficult; the nearby city of Tacoma, Wash., for

example, is across the nearly 6,000-foot-long Tacoma Narrows Bridge.In designing and building a local community hospital for Gig Harbor, the project team

strove to develop a facility that truly embodied its surroundings.The hospital is operated by the Franciscan Health System, a faith-based organization

affiliated with Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver. With St. Anthony Hospital, the healthsystem says it is working to fulfill its central mission of creating healthier communities.

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PROJECT OVERVIEWPROJECT NAME St. Anthony

HospitalLOCATION Gig Harbor, Wash.TOTAL FLOOR AREA 250,000

square feetNUMBER OF FLOORS 5NUMBER OF BEDS 80 PROJECT COST $160 millionCONSTRUCTION COST

$95 millionGROUNDBREAKING February

2007OPENING DATE March 2009

PROJECT TEAMOWNER Franciscan Health

SystemARCHITECT ZGF Architects LLPGENERAL CONTRACTOR

Sellen Construction Co.INTERIOR DESIGNER

ZGF ArchitectsMECHANICAL ENGINEER

CDi EngineersELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Coffman Engineers STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

PCS Structural SolutionsCIVIL ENGINEERING DOWL HKM

(formerly DOWL Engineers)LANDSCAPING SiteWorkshopMEDICAL EQUIPMENT PLANNER

ZGF Architects/FranciscanHealth System

The facility embraces acentral healing gardenvisible from all mainpublic spaces and additional gardens are tucked in around

its perimeter.

interventional surgeries, asthey evolve. Generic space inthe building will be able to ac-commodate changes in patientflow requirements and theneeds of support staff, he says.

The attached medicalpavilion enables physiciansto walk directly across a con-necting bridge to performsurgery and see post-opera-tive patients at the hospital.The physicians “really, reallyappreciate that,” says Peet.

Maximum visibilityThe hospital’s patient unitshave a straightforward de-sign that allows for maxi-mum visibility between nurs-es and gives the hospital a

Becoming onewith the

native habitat

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Civic landmarkAllyn Stellmacher, AIA, LEEDAP, design partner, ZGF, notesthat while architecture stu dentsare taught libraries and cityhalls are important local monu-ments, community hospitalsare also strong civic markersthat bring people together andrepresent the character of anarea. At St. Anthony Hospital,“the building wanted to be sim-ple and understated to maxi-mize that community connec-tion,” says Anita Rossen, seniorinterior designer, ZGF.

The hospital is designed toblend gracefully into its site;the natural and built environ-ments relate closely to one an-other in appreciation of the

area’s natural beauty. Thecommunity’s long history withthe commercial fishing andboat-building industries ishighlighted in numerous as-pects of the hospital design.

The area’s Native Americanheritage is honored in an artprogram that showcases thework of local artists through-out the facility. This includes aprominently displayed hand-made wooden canoe that illus-trates the spirit and craftsman-ship of area residents.

A chapel positioned adja-cent to the hospital’s front en-try gives precedence to theFranciscans’ sense of faith.Light fixtures in the chapelreference lighthouses and bea-

cons, which Stellmacher saysthe architects felt were impor-tant spiritual components tothe community. A small, out-door reflecting pool that canbe seen through floor-to-ceil-ing glass lends the impressionof being on the water to thoseinside the chapel, imagerywell-suited to the area’s mar-itime heritage and the hospi-tal’s Catholic ministry.

Simple designThe understated design carriesinto the patient care areas ofthe hospital. “Simplicity canbe better,” Stellmacher says.“The last thing anybody needsin a medical facility is some-thing that’s complicated to

navigate or understand.”This goes for staff as well as

visitors. For the benefit of allusers, St. Anthony Hospital islaid out with simple circula-tion routes and departmentaladjacencies with natural lightand views as intuitivewayfinding cues.

“It functions very well froman operational perspective,”says hospital President CarolePeet. “It’s very easy to navi-gate.” She notes, in particular,the facility’s second floor,which contains all of the hos-pital’s surgery and interven-tional services.

According to Stellmacher,this area is designed to adapt todifferent care models, such as

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NATURAL WORLD

The garden-level lobby offers a visualrespite for patients,visitors and staff.

The woods around St. AnthonyHospital were influential to thebuilding’s design, both literally

and figuratively.The 30-acre greenfield site was

densely forested and included wetlandsand a salmon stream. To preserve thepeaceful, healing atmosphere, the hos -pital was integrated into the landscape despite its more than 80-foot grade.Rather than cut a bench from the land

and clear a platform for hospital construc-tion, “we were able to nestle the buildinginto the site, being careful with the grad-ing,” explains Allyn Stellmacher, AIA, LEEDAP, design partner, ZGF Architects LLP.Quartzite, poured concrete and wood pan-els on the building’s exterior blend the fa-cility into the surrounding Douglas fir trees.More than half the property remains in

its natural state; the wetlands and streamwere conserved and portions of the sitedisturbed by construction were replantedwith indigenous plants. The 200-foot set-backs of an existing power line are accom-modated in the design.

The hospital is focused around a gardenthat can be viewed from every publicspace. Every patient room has a view toeither the garden or the woods. The interi-or design is oriented toward externalviews, with muted colors designed not tocompete with the outdoor beauty.In addition, the designers used the idea

of “A Walk in the Woods” as an organizingmetaphor for the overall interior design. Theyidentified the types of spaces one might en-counter on a walk in the woods and associ-ated these with architectural elements.Elevator lobbies, for example, were iden-

tified with meadows, which open up into aview. Diagnostic imaging, where there isless natural light, was identified with thecalming nature of the denser forest. Thisidea unifies the interior design and helpsensure that transitions between areas—particularly in regard to lighting—occur in amore natural fashion that is not too abruptfor patients’ and visitors’ comfort. �

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BRINGING THE OUTDOORS IN (top to bottom) � The emer-gency walk-in reception area features textured stone, a wood-clad reception desk and exposed structural columns that sug-gest trees lining a path. � Comfortable reception and familywaiting areas are designed to take advantage of nature viewsand provide a calm environment for patients and their lovedones. � An enclosed pedestrian bridge overlooking the heal-ing garden and surrounding natural landscape connects themain hospital to the medical pavilion. � The entry lobby forthe medical-surgical unit overlooks a rooftop garden with elements of nature reflected in the interior.

Full-height glazing in the ED waiting area offers views to an outdoor sculpture garden.

Honoring maritime traditions

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LEFT A family conferencecenter adjacent to the gar-den-level lobby providesspace for private meetingsas well as larger communityevents.

BOTTOM With polished concrete flooring and woodclad walls, the chapel pro-vides a place for reflectionsurrounded by a shallowpool of water referencing nature’s healing power.

SPEC SHEET

PRINCIPAL DESIGN MATERIALS

Carpet: Shaw Carpet tile: InterfaceFLOR and ShawContract Ceiling: 9Wood Inc. and Armstrong WorldIndustries Inc. Conference room visual: Egan Visu-al Inc. Curtain wall framing: Kawneer Flooring:Johnsonite, Mannington Mills Inc., nora systemsand Toli International Lighting: Louis Poulsen Inc.Resin panels: 3form Inc. and Lumicor Roofing:Firestone Building Products Tile: Ann Sacks, AtlasConcorde and Daltile Window treatments: CastecInc. PRINCIPAL FURNISHINGS Benches: BernhardtFurniture Co. Cafeteria seating: Leland Cafeteriatables: West Coast Industries Inc. Casework andwoodworking: Beaubois Conference room seating:Stylex Lounge seating: Cabot Wrenn, Carolina Busi-ness Furniture and Kimball International Inc. Nurseseating: Dauphin Human Design Office desks, filesand shelving: Herman Miller Inc. Office seating:Haworth Inc. Patient beds: Hill-Rom Patient roomguest chairs: Geiger International Inc. Patientroom seating: Coalesse Patient room side chairs:Cape Contract Furniture Inc. Staff conference roomfurnishings: Allseating Corp. Staff lounge furnish-ings: Brandrud MAJOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Com -puted tomography scanner (multislice) and X-rayunits (digital general radiology and radiography &fluoroscopy): GE Healthcare Magnetic resonanceimaging unit: Siemens Healthcare Surgical lightsand sterilizer: Steris Corp. INFRASTRUCTURE Air han-dling unit: Haakon Industries Inc. Boilers: Cleaver-Brooks Chillers: Carrier Corp. and Multistack Eleva-tors: Schindler Management Ltd. Generator: MTUOnsite Energy

Information provided by ZGF Architects LLP

great deal of flexibility in re-gards to staffing models, pa-tient types and acuity types.

The 32-bed units are ar -ranged in neighborhood podsalong straight corridors. Eachpod has its own large, centralnurses’ station and support areas. “We were trying … toshorten those walking dis-tances, and thinking about theday-to-day back and forth fromthe patient room to the core for

the staff,” Rossen says. ZGFmeasured this design against acomparable patient unit at adifferent facility and found thewalking distances at St. Antho-ny Hospital to be significantlyshorter, allowing nurses moretime at the bedside deliveringdirect patient care.

The 230-square-foot privatepatient rooms are standard-ized to simplify caregiving.Full-height windows at each

end of the patient unit corri-dors brighten the units withnatural light and views.

Peace and quietPeet says she continues to beamazed by the sense of spaceand cleanliness in the newhospital, even after a year ofoperation.

“I can walk through this hospital on any given day andthere’s nothing in the hallways,”she says. “There’s no clutter.That is so different from whatyou typically feel in a building.”

She says, too, that “becauseof the way the building is de-signed, it is so quiet you haveno sense of how busy we are,”even when the hospital is full.

She adds that many pa-tients have commented upondischarge that they don’t wantto leave the hospital becauseit is such a beautiful buildingand they’ve enjoyed beingcared for there.

The peaceful environmentexemplifies the Franciscan

Health System’s stated visionfor healing the body, mindand spirit. The hospital is po-sitioned on the site to allowfor future expansion withoutcompromising the simplicityof the layout or the impor-tance of the landscaping.

Hospital buildings “carry ahuge burden relative to otherbuildings we may construct inthe world,” Stellmacher says.

At St. Anthony Hospital, theproject team worked to deliv-er straightforward solutions tothe complex issues of hospitaldesign and construction, whileremembering the most impor-tant feature of a communityhospital. As Rossen says, thisis more than just a building,“this is about people.” HFM

Amy Eagle is a freelance writer

based in Homewood, Ill., who spe-

cializes in health care-

related topics. She is

a regular contributor

to Health Facilities

Management.

OPEN BUT DISCRETE

Nurses’ stations inthe med-surg unit

have access to natu-ral daylight, while aglass-enclosed flex-room provides spacefor private meetingsand conversations.

The design of St. Anthony Hospital, named for the patron saint offishermen and sailors, honors the rich maritime traditions of GigHarbor, Wash., in many often subtle ways.

Gig Harbor was founded by fishermen and, as planning for the town’sfirst community hospital was under way, local residents and project plan-ners “wanted to make sure that they linked the community history with thefacility,” says hospital President Carole Peet.According to Anita Rossen, senior interior designer, ZGF Architects LLP, the

goal was to pay tribute to Gig Harbor’s heritage in a design that was sophisti-cated, warm and timeless, and to which a large number of people could relate.“We worked hard to avoid the big anchors in front of the building, things

of that nature that one might find obvious,” says Allyn Stellmacher, AIA,LEED AP, ZGF design partner.To gain a deeper understanding of the area, designers from ZGF pho-

tographed several local scenes, which they arranged in a collage postedabove their work alcove. The collage “really became a part of our designsessions and part of the fabric of what we were relating to as we worked on the design,” Rossen says.The images found their way into the building through many elegant ges-

tures, such as pendant lights shaped like the glass floats formerly used incommercial fishing, circular vents that evoke portholes, reception desksclad in wood resembling the wooden planks of piers and fishing boats, andwavelike patterns on walls and flooring. In the chapel, vertical wooden lou-vers made to look like the tail fins of a boat are suspended from stainlesssteel pins; the wooden paneling features exposed metal fasteners similar

to those used in boat con-struction. “It’s a very subtle, very

graceful design,” says hos pital spokesperson Gale Robinette. �

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WOOD IS GOOD

With soft colors,wood-grain cabinetsand enclosed equip-ment, the med-surgpatient rooms utilizea natural paletteand motifs that

evoke a connectionto nature.