The Johns Hopkins Hospital

The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center and the Sheikh Zayed Tower

Baltimore, Maryland

Distinguished by its curved shape, articulated forms, bold color, gardens, and natural light, the new facility for The Johns Hopkins Hospital serves as a new front door to the hospital campus. The building includes two 12-story towers for children's and adult healthcare, each with clear identities, that rise from an eight-story base to create a unified whole. The complex includes 560 private patient rooms, 33 state-of-the-art operating rooms, and expansive new adult and pediatric emergency departments. Its integrated healthcare planning and design supports both the most advanced medical technology and the latest evidence-based strategies for ideal patient-oriented care.

We collaborated with artist Spencer Finch, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Johns Hopkins staff on the design of the shimmering glass curtain wall that covers much of the building's exterior. In addition, the new hospital design incorporates over 500 works of art created by 70 artists as well as healing gardens and landscaping.

In a reinvention of healthcare interiors and furnishings, we deployed a strategy designed to evoke joyful, diverting, and humanizing architectural experiences, including daylight-filled areas; the prominent roles of gardens; bold palettes of pure artist colors; whimsical, elegant, and diverting furniture; and timeless materials such as marble, limestone, terrazzo, and wood.