In science lives hope. This is a core belief at UC Health. Nationally ranked as one of the country's top hospitals, UC Health is also the region's only Level 1 trauma care center. By surfacing life's essential building blocks--the hidden textures, lines, and symmetries that can't be detected by the human eye alone--we helped UC Health physically express their unique brand, their culture of hope, and the power of academic medicine.

For the inaugural project of a system-wide renovation, UC Health put their main arrival under the microscope and saw an opportunity to enhance the patient experience. A distinctive new entrance canopy clearly defines the campus' front door, whether people are arriving on foot from teh parking garage or driving up to drop off and pick up.

The canopy's textures create interest as light changes throughout the day and season. These hidden patterns also inspired the textures used in the ceiling above the information desk as well as on the new grand stair and its overlook.

The project used the building blocks of design--arrival, orientation, transition--to create intuitive wayfinding: Arrival (where do I go?), orientation (where do I go from here?), and transition (there's where I go next) to help people navigate the space once they enter the building. More than just emowering people to know where to go, the lobby is designed to be a healthy space that brings them together to connect, collaborate, and convey the story of hope 

This project is the recipient of a Touchstone Platinum Award from the Center for Health Design; a First Place Wildcard Metamorphosis Award from Retrofit Magazine; and an AIA Cincinnati Building Architecture Large Scale Mention Award