Brigham and Women’s Hospital Intensive Care Unit

Location

Boston, MA / United States

Completed

2005

Total Square Footage

13,372 SF

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Intensive Care Unit, Nursing Units

This project involved the renovation of over 19,000 SF of the existing third floor of the 1968 Patient Tower Building at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While the floor was initially designed as four pods of circular inpatient units, the space had been used as cardiology office space for the last 15 years. Two circular pods were renovated for 20 MICU private patient rooms, including four airborne infection isolation rooms and four protective environment rooms along with nursing support functions. A third pod was divided into additional offices, lockers and conference rooms. Part of the building core was also renovated to provide a family center including waiting areas, medical information stations and consultation rooms.

While the circular configuration of the original floorplate presented a difficult design challenge, it also provided a clear device that guided the spatial organization of the plan. The design focused on optimizing efficiency, clear organization and wayfinding for the caregivers, while maximizing visual transparency throughout the unit.

Simultaneously with the MICU project, a separate infrastructure project was carried out to upgrade the HVAC and electrical capacity at the floor to meet the demands of the new MICU requirements. The need to build the space without disrupting the operations of the hospital floors above and below constituted a major challenge to the design and execution of the project.