Mercyhealth embarked on an ambitious renovation and expansion plan for their entire healthcare system, commissioning Saiki Design to work on a number of significant hospital and clinic projects including the 263-acre greenfield site for a women’s and children’s hospital and multispecialty clinic to provide state of the-art facilities and services to the area.
Refining the overall site plan through a rigorous examination of pedestrian and vehicular circulation allowed landscape architects at Saiki Design to identifying simple design movements that could be incorporated by the civil engineering team into the site plan to provide better connections from parking lots and pedestrian areas to various building entries. At the outset of the project, the site was a proverbial blank slate with building massing and parking lots roughed in, challenging the team of designers at Saiki Design to create spaces where there were none, to provide paths and amenities packages to enhance the everyday usability of the site and to tie the entire landscape into a cohesive series of spaces and movements.
Once the site’s circulation framework was solidified, the design team creatively designed a sunken courtyard space with limited design budget, producing multiple iterations of design for the space until the balance of budget, durability and aesthetic was achieved. A unique and highly-detailed rooftop terrace was designed to provide a space for families and patients in the children’s wing. On the roof, a custom steel canopy structure is flanked by tall planters, providing shade and privacy for the main rehabilitation play area. Smaller play areas on the roof surround the main space and provide accessible private space for relaxation, contemplation and rehabilitation. The 43,900 square foot rooftop is composed of approximately 38,000 square feet of custom grown sedum plantings.
In addition to the courtyard and green roof, designers crafted a contemplative garden space, a children’s play space, respite nodes along a bucolic walking path and a ‘great lawn’ space for hosting internal gatherings and external healthcare fairs and events.
