ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Architect of record SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative), along with project partner and design architect Perkins&Will, have unveiled plans for the new University of Rochester Orthopaedics & Physical Performance Center. Phase one of the outpatient campus will be located in a former Sears retail space at the Marketplace Mall in Henrietta, N.Y. Once complete, it will be one of the largest outpatient orthopaedics facilities in the Northeast.

The new facility reflects a convergence between the surge in e-commerce resulting in available retail spaces and a growing demand for more robust healthcare infrastructure across the country.

“As healthcare facilities across the U.S. look to decentralize their services, the adaptive reuse of underutilized retail space represents a huge opportunity for institutions, like the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), to expand their outpatient reach by moving to the mall.” says Scott Hansche, AIA, principal-in-charge at SLAM, who serves as Architect of Record for the project.

The full $227 million, 350,000-square-foot facility includes a 210,000-square-foot renovated space and a 140,000-square-foot new outpatient clinical services building that will house 140 exam rooms for orthopaedic care.

Designed to be patient-oriented, the team brought daylight into the existing Sears footprint through a series of skylights and an internal courtyard that also functions as a rehabilitation space. Overall, the design of the building’s sinuous facade represents the idea of movement, emblematic of the orthopaedic care provided within its walls.

The new facility reflects a current urgency to find design solutions that expand infrastructure into underserved regions, helping to address the country’s healthcare equity gaps. One of the goals for the design team was to foster a feeling of familiarity and accessibility.

“Repurposing a traditional community anchor, such as a mall, helps upend perceptions of healthcare facilities as centralized urban complexes,” says Robert Goodwin, FAIA, design director of Perkins&Will’s New York studio. “We are integrating healthcare into the existing fabric of the community rather than asking patients to travel to a facility that might be hard to reach.”

The focus on accessibility was amplified through a series of decentralized entry points and the addition of a dedicated bus stop outside of the outpatient facility along the mall’s usual route.

“While the facility is in a distinctly suburban location, it was crucial that we make its services accessible to everyone within the community, including those without access to a car,” adds Goodwin. “At the same time, because we are locating this facility at a mall, we knew there would be ample parking on site and that the community would know how to get here.”

Breathing a second life into an expansive yet under-utilized retail complex also yields both economic and environmental benefits, allowing the design team to repurpose existing infrastructure and resources, while reducing costs and construction times.

The renovated portion of the project is 200,000-square feet of a surgical platform with three operating rooms, a three-room procedure suite, advanced imaging, clinical research, education, administration, physical therapy, and a human performance and injury prevention center.

The addition of URMC’s outpatient facility is intended to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the remaining retail environment by providing additional foot traffic through the mall. A major entryway will connect and integrate the healthcare space to the rest of the campus, creating a mutually supportive relationship.

“We saw an opportunity to build a center that’s not only right-sized for patient volumes, but also expands on treatment options and convenience for patients,” says Paul T. Rubery, MD, Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

“This project answers an urgent, unmet need for patients: faster access to surgery and provider appointments, a convenient location, and a campus and treatment space designed precisely for patients with painful orthopaedic conditions and mobility challenges. This campus employs design strategies to make navigating the space as easy and comfortable as possible,” adds Rubery.

The multiphase project will be complete by 2023. The first phase, relocating the orthopaedic administrative offices to an adjacent renovated lease space, was complete and occupied in the fall of 2021. The second phase, the conversion of the former Sears store to an outpatient surgical center, will be complete by fall 2022. This will be followed by a rehab and sports performance center next spring, and a four-story, 144-bed clinic space in the fall of 2023.

Quick facts:

Architect of Record: SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative)
Design Architect: Perkins&Will’s New York studio
Local Construction Administration Architect: Dwyer Architectural
Location: Rochester, New York
Status: In Construction
Completion Date: 2023
Size:  350,000-square feet

Editor’s Note: A report from SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative) contributed strongly to this article.

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PHILADELPHIA—SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative), in partnership with Doylestown Health, has completed phase three of the new $54 million, 100,000-SF, three-story addition to Doylestown Hospital, called the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion. Opened in April 2021, phase three marks another milestone in the hospital’s commitment to expanding care for their most vulnerable patients, with the fit-out of a new 32-bed intensive/intermediate care unit on the Pavilion’s third floor.

Modeled after the Cardiovascular ICU on the Pavilion’s second floor, the ICU/IMU is designed with private universal rooms to flex between the hospital’s increasing demand for intensive care and step-down beds. With patient wellbeing in mind, three zones are designed in the patient room specific to clinical, patient, and family functions, indicated by a change in flooring pattern and ceiling height.

The SLAM healthcare design team worked closely with the clinical staff to incorporate best practice and evidence-based design principles and amenities that seamlessly integrates Doylestown Hospital’s advanced and nationally recognized clinical care within a warm and caring environment.

“The design of the facility is a result of a collective process with the hospital,” says Dawn Thornton, AIA, SLAM architect and lead designer on the project. “All departments of the hospital were included at some level in the design reviews, material selections and mockups. Because of this communal process we were able to deliver a state-of-the-art facility that aligns with the hospital’s status as a leader in safety and high-quality healthcare delivery.”

The unit focuses on patient-centered care to promote safety and noise reduction as well as efficiency and enhanced workflow of the staff.  “Pods” centered around eight patient rooms, four on each side of the bed-wing core, are designed to expedite response time to patient needs and to reduce movement and supplies in the corridors. Curved corridor walls allow visual connection from the nurse station to the decentralized stations and into the rooms. Glass-walled rooms behind the nurse stations allow close collaboration between the staff while maintaining the visual connection.

A family comfort room with large floor-to-ceiling windows is located at the end of the unit and provides home-like amenities, laptop counter, and views to nature. Respite rooms in the unit offer families a place to be together in an intimate and calming environment.

Family and visitors benefit from the Pavilion’s atrium café that offers heart healthy eating options.

The next and final phases of the Pavilion is an outpatient cardiac services suite on the first floor of the bed wing. The cardiac services suite includes a Cardiac/ Pulmonary Rehabilitation Gym and Preadmissions Testing (currently under construction) as well as Cardiac Diagnostic Testing and Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons’ offices which is in the planning stage to complete the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion.

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