The Challenge
UAB Health Medical West replaces a 1960s hospital with a modern, experience-centered facility that serves rural communities. The project goal was to design a warm, inviting and technologically advanced care environment within a tight budget and enable new ways of operating and delivering care.
HKS’ collaborated with local design partner, KPS, who had previous experience with UAB, to build trust with the tight-knit staff and develop an approach for designing a warm, comforting environment that exuded the southern hospitality they are known for.
The Design Solution
The design team embraced the unique natural qualities of the site’s pond, trees and steep terrain. Trails for walking and running around the pond and throughout the campus help connect the greater community to a health and wellness destination. The building’s fully glazed exterior reflects the 125-foot pine trees and natural wetlands surrounding it, eliciting a sense of oneness with nature.
The southern hospitality-inspired interior design includes a front porch atmosphere in the lobby, complete with rocking chairs and views outside. Warm wood tones and stonework serve as a base, and each floor features distinct botanical elements of native plant species and complementary color palettes.
The Cahaba lily — a rare species of spider lily that blooms for only two weeks each May and grows in running water — is featured throughout the ground floor and lobby. The team hired a plant life photographer to take pictures of the blooms and other native plant species to correspond with each floor’s theme. The budget only allowed for one image per floor, so the team selected the perfect photo that could be cropped in various ways for printed glass, wall graphics and artwork.
The lobby’s ceiling features petal-shaped lights and long curved panels that mimic the Cahaba lily. The shape is then reflected onto the floor pattern just as it would reflect onto the running water where they grow. The botanical graphics that distinguish each floor offer warming pops of color that can lift a person’s mood — a crucial outcome of biophilic design strategies in often stressful health care settings.
“When you walk into this hospital it’s really jaw-dropping but in this really welcoming and warm way.”
Dr. Cynthia Brown, OBGYN, UAB Medical West
The Design Impact
The staff family is extremely proud of the new facility and are actively putting in place new ways of working and delivering patient care for the rural communities surrounding Bessemer, Alabama.
