Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg

Entrance.
Photograph © Matt Wargo for VSBA.

Patient and clinical areas were designed with the patient and family in mind. An administrative staff member is located to provide personal contact upon arrival at each floor. Each unit includes a room for family members to stay overnight. Units are designed to help staff focus on patient care by distributing functions usually located at a central nurse station to staff areas at the entrance to the patient's room. Each room provides separate zones for patient, staff, and family. To improve flexibility and decrease patient relocations, the twelve-bed open-heart unit was designed to provide complete services from post-surgery to discharge.

VSBA's plan helped to reorient the hospital campus from the south to the north. An important aspect of this process was the iconic 48-foot blue "H" marking the hospital's new entry. The "H" -- at once a sign and an entry -- is integrated into a limestone arcade that welcomes visitors and supports the entrance canopy. Parking is available directly in front of the new building, with a clear and direct pedestrian pathway crossing the lot and leading through the base of the "H" into the hospital.

Entry arcade.
Photograph © Matt Wargo for VSBA.

The building's facade is red brick and limestone on the front and buff brick on the sides and back. An applied metal grid on the front represents the advanced technological structure and complements the more traditional brickwork. The combination of materials represents the "high touch and high tech" balance of health care that's the cornerstone of this hospital system.

Inside, visitors and patients are greeted with a large information desk, comfortable seating, and abundant natural light. An array of plasma screens forming a 19' by 12' wall helps to lend a bright and colorful focus to the generally recessive interior. The media wall allows information to be current, relevant, and easily changeable, and it highlights the use of technology as an integral component of the new building. It's visible from the parking lot through the "H" and can be seen from multiple vantage points inside and outside the building.

A non-denominational chapel is located in a convenient yet secluded location in the building. Green-painted walls provide a calm backdrop for contemplation, and inspirational quotes are bold in size but subtle in color. Natural light is borrowed from the lobby via high clerestory windows at the front of the room.

View full page Pages: Previous Page 1 | 2 | 3 Next Page