St. Anthony Hospital

CREATING A HEALING ENVIRONMENT BY INTEGRATING LIGHT AND NATURE

Tucked away on a remote wooded peninsula in the picturesque Pacific Northwest is the town of Gig Harbor, Washington. With a population of 120,000 and growing, the people of Gig Harbor needed a large-scale health center that would address their healthcare needs in a calming and peaceful healing environment. The main concern for the Franciscan Health System was that the building reflected the history of the community and the natural surroundings of the area.

In describing the design intent, Allyn Stellmacher, Design Partner at ZGF Architects, noted: “The natural beauty of the wooded forests surrounding the hospital, and the connection between nature and a patient’s journey from sickness back to health, became key themes in development of the design. Concepts such as exploration, silent reflection, moments of pause and visual connectivity between interior and exterior landscapes emerged as strong design fundamentals.”

Both Kawneer and Stephens Enterprises helped ZGF and the general contractor, Sellen Construction Company, identify products that met design needs. What emerged was a high-end, 80-bed medical facility that unites the maritime history of the region with the natural environment, enhancing the overall patient experience.

The hospital was designed according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®*) and Green Guide for Healthcare guidelines and successfully incorporates several sustainable features that achieve a high-performance healing environment. Since opening, the St. Anthony Hospital has garnered many awards for its interior and exterior design including the Healthcare Environments Award for acute care facility.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
The use of natural light throughout the hospital was a key element in the design. To increase exposure to daylight throughout the facility, the design featured several glazed products and systems. The L-shaped building revolves around the landscape and a central healing garden, with additional view gardens tucked around the building perimeter providing glimpses of nature from every possible angle. A two-story public lobby and window wall provide direct views of the healing garden.

CHALLENGES

• Bringing daylight into the facility, especially in areas that do not typically have outdoor exposure.
• Integrating the building structures and parking facilities into the dense vegetation of the complex site and with the building materials themselves.
• Washington State’s stringent energy requirements for new buildings require high thermal performing solutions.
• The hospital and architect required solutions that could not only meet safety needs, but also provide superior aesthetics.

SOLUTIONS

• Kawneer’s 2250 IG (Inside Glazed) Curtain Wall and 1600 Wall System®2 Curtain Wall allowed daylight to reach areas of the hospital that would traditionally be interior or windowless. Additionally, the waiting rooms and emergency department feature full-height glazed panels to provide unobstructed views of the surroundings.
• The exterior materials chosen were able to blend the curtain wall systems with the landscape through use of contrasting textures of natural stone, wood, concrete and structural steel columns.
• The hospital also featured Kawneer’s PG 123® Framing system and 360 Insulclad® Thermal Entrances to provide as the thermal performance capacity for the wide temperature swings of the Pacific Northwest climate.
• Due to the high safety requirements of the facility, the strength testing and proven performance of Kawneer’s products made the architect and owner feel secure about the integrity of the structure while maintaining the highest quality of design.

ARCHITECTS: Caldwell Associates and Architects, Inc., Pensacola, Florida; ZGF Architects, LLP, Seattle, Washington
GLAZING CONTRACTOR: Stephens Enterprises Inc. of Tacoma, Fife, Washington

Photography: © Doug J. Scott

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