NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Ctr

The design for NewYork-Presbyterian’s new ambulatory care center in Manhattan minimizes stress and improves the patient experience.

With its glass-encapsulated wood screen facade and transparent lower floors, the building presents a warm, hospitable face to the community. A 40-foot-high, daylit main lobby welcomes patients and their families from the noise and congestion of the city. From there, a dramatic staircase leads to a second-story, living room-like space with quiet zones, lounges and dining areas. Higher-level floors continue this focus on patient comfort with bright, airy lobbies and circulation areas.

The radiation oncology services are located on the light-filled 4th floor instead of below ground, as in many hospitals, and the infusion center just down the hall provides cancer patients access to city views and the restorative properties of natural light.

A green roof covers 30 percent of the roof’s surface and can retain up to six inches of storm water, helping to cool the building. The high-performance building skin and high-efficiency mechanical systems are designed to decrease energy use by 18.7 percent and water usage by 30 percent. The distinctive exterior facade, consisting of triple-paned insulated glazing with an encapsulated wood screen, significantly reduces solar glare, heat gain and the need for solar or privacy shading. The resilient design enables the building to continue operating during an extreme weather event or disruption to the city power.

Part of the challenge was designing an environmentally responsible facility with the expectation that more sophisticated equipment will be incorporated into outpatient care environments of the future. The building’s long-span structural system and tall floor-to-floor heights allow entire floors to be reconfigured with very little impact on hospital operations. Removable facade panels enable new medical equipment to be moved into the building as needed.

This is the first project in New York City to earn certification under the LEED Healthcare rating system, and the first project in New York State to earn LEED Gold under the Healthcare rating system.

The design team included HOK as architect and interior designer (public spaces), Ballinger as medical architect and interior designer (clinical spaces), and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners as consulting architect for the building envelope and lobby.