Kennedy Krieger Institute, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building, Outpatient Center, Baltimore Type of facility: Children's outpatient center
Project architect: Stanley Beaman & Sears
Construction manager: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Completed: March 2009
Size: 115,000 square feet
Cost: $39 million
Cost per square foot: $339 (includes therapy garden)
While most children's healthcare facilities are loaded with “positive distractions,” designers say the aim at the Kennedy Krieger Institute's new outpatient center in the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building was to dial that down.
Instead, the goals were to serve as a place to build hope and confidence in its patients, “send a message to staff about the value of their work,” and act as a revitalizing influence on Baltimore's East Side neighborhood.
“Some of their patients with behavior disorders need a low level of stimulation,” says Kimberly Stanley, an owner with the Atlanta-based Stanley, Beaman & Sears architectural firm and the principal in charge of the project. She adds that the most stimulating aspect of the lobby is a large aquarium that she says is an extremely popular but low-key attraction for the children who use the facilities.
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Read more profiles of the Design Awards winners The six-story building, which was completed in March and consolidated several of the institute's outpatient facilities that were sprinkled throughout downtown Baltimore, provides therapy for children, adolescents and young adults with spinal injuries or mild to severe brain disorders and developmental disabilities.
The lobby has a photo-filled curved wooden wall with the words “In my mind, I can do anything” etched into it. Public areas are open and spacious, allowing patients to see their peers and giving family and caregivers opportunities to meet.
“We wanted parents to interact and create spontaneous support groups,” says project architect Jennifer Ehrich.
Stanley says another goal was to create “a model for accessibility.” Interestingly, except for those used for training or practice purposes, “there is not a ramp in the whole facility,” Stanley says. “Access throughout the building is completely flat.”
The facility's two main gyms overlook the garden, as does the sixth-floor, natural-light-filled aquatic center, which provides patients a view of the Baltimore skyline.
