PORTFOLIO

About

Medical Center Hospital (MCH) Center for Women and Infants in Odessa, Texas is being built to provide a hospitality experience for their mother and baby patients, as well as the family members.   Medical Center Health System teamed up with their architects, highly specialized staff at this facility and even the public to create one of the most state-of-the-art maternity centers in this region.

The MCH Center for Women and Infants is being constructed as an extension to the existing hospital.   The architecture on the exterior had to blend with the existing but give the facility a splash of modern style.    The interior had to appeal to a person of any culture, age or socio-economic status.    The interior walls and columns are clad with metal in the lobby areas on all three floors, giving the lobby areas a sleek contemporary look that acts like a piece of art.

When the MCH Center for Women and Infants opens in January 2012, it will feature:

• Private entrance with lobby and gift shop
• 12 Labor & Delivery Rooms
• 30 Private Postpartum Rooms
• 20 Newborn Nursery Beds
• 30  Private Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Rooms
• 3 State-of-the-Art Cesarean-Section Suites
• New Ronald McDonald Family Room
• Natural light in patient rooms and lobby areas.
• Advanced infant security system

The design intent is appealing to two different patient populations, the mother and baby. Baby represented by a crochet blanket and the mother represented by lace. Both offer different textures but the uses of organic structure designs coupled with bringing the exterior architectural elements to the interior are all reflected throughout the design. The finishes reflect a hospitality look filled with warm neutral tones, all while they are durable and suitable for a healthcare setting.

The private two-story atrium entrance provides natural light to the lobby areas. The Second Level, housing the NICU, incorporates accents of blue throughout the space serving as wayfinding. A geometric floor pattern design was placed at each nurse station to highlight staff zones from visitor/patient spaces. In each NICU room, a curved band in the floor design delineates the family zone from the patient and staff zone. The head walls and footwalls give a hospitality edge by concealing the medical gas units from public view with frosted sliding resin panels. The resin panels emulate the “crochet” design with a subtle metallic design.  The Fourth Level, housing Labor and Delivery, Postpartum, and the newborn nursery incorporates accents of red, yellow, and green along with warm wood tones. Evidence-based design shows us that red accents help promote healing. In each patient room, the headwall and footwall design is composed of streamline modern counters with a granite appearance and vessel sinks. The millwork incorporates frosted sliding resin panels emulating “lace.”

The furniture in the public spaces features serpentine and lounge style seating. With the clients’ appreciation for evidence-based design, the artwork desired is feminine macro-photography displaying flowers and plants with other organic elements.