By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Christ Hospital Joint and Spine Center will provide specialized care in a centralized location for orthopaedic, spine care, education and clinical outcomes research. Targeting a summer 2015 opening, the final beam for the building’s structural steelwork was placed in the fall.

The building came with unique needs. The treatment of orthopaedic patients often requires a greater amount of equipment and therefore more space is needed. Designers used the need for ample space to their benefit, according to an article on the Healthcare Construction + Operations website.

The building uses a great deal of glass in its design for ample views and daylighting. Floor-to-ceiling glass in patient rooms, translucent glass patient walls along the corridor and a narrow central support zone allows natural light in all spaces, Peter Van Vetchen, director at architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill said. Open-air gardens are also incorporated into the design to strengthen the connection to the outdoors.

The historic cupola of The Christ Hospital will be further accentuated through the placement of a central lantern.

“Exterior gardens were developed at the main level, providing a place of relief, and at the roof floor to take advantage of the great views of Cincinnati,” Van Vetchen said in the article.

The center is part of a larger $265 million expansion of The Christ Hospital’s Mount Auburn campus, which also includes a new visitor garage, materials management building and renovated main entry. 

Read the article.