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ut the two and others in the hospital watched the lightning and downpour
through the hospital windows.
“The girls were just glued to the glass,” Ms. Timmerman said of the
experience.
Ms. Timmerman said the abundant light that comes into the rooms can be
cut off completely, if needed, by using window shades with blackout capabilities.
Peace and quiet
The rooms are incredibly quiet, she added; so much so that she and her
daughter, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia, have more difficulty
sleeping at home than they do at the hospital.
That quiet environment also was intentionally designed, said Jason Miller,
director of project management for the Children’s Hospital, pointing to features
such as sound-absorptive flooring
and soundproofing between rooms.
Mr. Miller noted that noise decibel
levels were monitored before the
hospital opened during an outdoor
concert playing just across the street at
Kinnick Stadium. Decibels of regular
sound in the main hospital were comparable
to those in the new hospital
during the concert, he said, “so it’s
very quiet in those rooms.”
That will be important this fall,
when tens of thousands of Hawkeye
fans stream into the stadium during
game days. On those days, the 12th
floor of the new hospital will play
a diversionary role for patients and
their families.
Best seat in the house
A “press box” on that floor overlooks
Kinnick Stadium, with seating for 81
patients and family members, who
will have some of the best views of
Hawkeye football games.
VITAL STATS
HEIGHT: 164 feet
DUCTWORK: 12 miles,
weighing 676,750 pounds
LIGHT FIXTURES: 7,003
TONS OF STEEL: 5,100
DOORS: 1,168
NUMBER OF FLOORS:
14, with two underground
SOIL REMOVED FROM
EXCAVATION: Enough
to fill 61 Olympic pools
PATIENT ROOMS: 130;
with the majority private
ANNUAL NUMBER OF
PATIENTS: 67,239 (fiscal
year 2015)
The same floor also features a meditation room with seating for religious
services or other events, offering another spot for a quiet retreat within the
hospital.
On a more lively end of the spectrum, an interactive theater on the hospital’s
first floor takes patients and visitors into another world via a giant screen
that allows them to “steer” birds with their arms and otherwise interact in
the playful space.
Chartreuse, violet and a rainbow of colors provide accents on walls, furniture
and other features throughout the building’s 507,000 square feet of
space, with color-coded themes and corresponding symbols of farmland,
woodlands, wetlands and prairie.
“We wanted the building to be reflective of the state of Iowa,” Mr. Turner
said. “It creates a great sense of identity.”
Top, Lilly Timmerman and her mother, Maria, enjoy the views and quiet environment
provided by the panoramic windows. Middle, a “press box” on the 12th floor overlooks
Kinnick Stadium. Above, the building’s curved shape facilitates patient care.
Efficient design
Even the building’s curved shape was designed to promote healing, not only
by offering those panoramic views, but by facilitating patient care. Mr. Miller
said having the location of equipment and support functions the same on
each floor increases efficiency.
Planners visited eight different hospitals across the country to find design
elements that would best work for the new hospital, with input from more
than 600 staff, patients and parents, among others.
The building, with Heery International of Iowa City serving as architect
of record; Foster + Partners of London as exterior designer; ZGF Architects
as interior designer and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol as landscape architects, is
expected to achieve a LEED Silver rating under the common green building
certification program.
“This entire project was driven by participation,” Mr. Turner said, adding
that he has heard positive comments from visitors and staff. “They’re excited
about the environment – how warm and inviting and quiet it is and how
much thought went into it. You only deliver this type of building when you
listen to the number of people that we did.” CBJ
6 CBJ BALANCE - SUMMER 2017