BRIDGEPOINT ACTIVE HEALTHCARE

Description:

Bridgepoint Active Healthcare is as much about city building and engagement with the community as it is about creating an architecture of wellness for people with complex chronic diseases. It creates a positive destination for people seeking help and for those providing care. The design evolves from the patient experience and expands to engaging the community, city and natural world. 

The hospital is the subject of North America’s largest post-occupancy study to assess the impact of design on health and wellbeing. This study has linked Bridgepoint’s design quality to patient and staff satisfaction as well as to inpatient healing: the average length of stay for stroke patients has been reduced by 12 days. 

This connectivity is key. The building design optimizes the therapeutic benefits of nature for healing by emphasizing visual and physical access to the outdoors. Magnificent views of the lush Don River Valley and Riverdale Park, the changing downtown skyline, and the vibrant Riverdale neighbourhood are all highlighted to connect patients and staff to the community. The massing and organizational strategy breaks down the large building into neighbourhoods of care. The podium is conceived as a public building and draws on the idea of an “urban porch” inspired by the vernacular of domestic and resort architecture in Canada. 

Bridgepoint Health is the first hospital in Toronto to be LEED Silver-certified. The building envelope incorporates durable and low-maintenance materials, including local stone, zinc metal panels and ipe wood. Low-iron glazing was used throughout to enhance the perception of the surrounding landscape. Interior materials were selected to support ongoing maintenance and infection control. Finally, a green roof with a dramatically positioned terrace is accessible to patients. Bridgepoint’s aspirations go beyond LEED to create an architecture of wellness that celebrates the sustainability of our healthcare system. [1]

The hospital’s architects—Stantec Architecture / KPMB Architects (Planning, Design and Compliance Architects) and HDR Architecture / Diamond Schmitt Architects (Design, Build, Finance and Maintain Architects)—aspired to make the 464-bed facility into a new paradigm in patient-centered care for chronic disease and rehabilitation in Canada. The country’s aging population is projected to be living longer with complex and multiple chronic diseases, which means longer-term or recurring relationships with treatment environments. To address this new reality, healthcare facilities will be transitioning from the current model of predominantly acute care (where visits are short and infrequent) to a new model of ongoing care. The social, sensorial and affective qualities of spaces are far more important in this latter type of care—which comes with a captive and aware patient population, prone to depression and boredom. 

The architects’ stated design objectives were used as the focus for the study. These included normalizing and humanizing the hospital environment, connecting it into the local community and Riverdale Park, maximizing daylight and views, and using multiple ancillary spaces as destinations to encourage mobility and social interaction. During preliminary design, the project was presented as a “village of care” , featuring “urban porches” and “sky gardens” that would enhance the quality of life for patients by offering an augmented program of amenity spaces. [2]

Awards
Canada Council, Governor General’s Medal in Architecture, 2016
Architectural Record, Good Design is Good Business, 2016
Corporate Knights, Green Building Review (bronze), 2016
UK Civic Trust, International Project (commendation), 2016

The Caritas Project, Generative Space Award, 2015
AIA Academy of Architecture for Health, Healthcare Design Award, 2015

Modern Healthcare Design Awards, 2014
Heritage Canada the National Trust, Awards for Building Heritage, 2014
Ontario Masonry Design Awards, 2014
Canadian Urban Institute, Brownie Awards, 2014
International Academy for Design & Health Awards (honorable mention), 2014
Pug Awards, People’s Choice for Best Institutional or Public Building, 2014
Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) award, Design Excellence, 2014

Canadian Architect, Award of Excellence, 2008

References

[1]     “Governor General’s Medal Winner: Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” Canadian Architect, June 22, 2019. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/governor-generals-bridgepoint/.

[2]      Atkinson, Cheryl. “Healthy Outcomes: Post-Occupancy Study, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” Canadian Architect, June 19, 2019. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/healthy-outcomes/.

Additional information:

Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Toronto, Ontario. KPMB Architects, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AtXeo6WYQs.

“Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” Diamond Schmitt, February 8, 2021. https://dsai.ca/projects/bridgepoint-active-healthcare/.

“Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” HDR, November 17, 2017. https://www.hdrinc.com/ca/portfolio/bridgepoint-active-healthcare.

“Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” KPMB. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.kpmb.com/project/bridgepoint-active-healthcare/.

“Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.” Stantec. Stantec Architecture, n.d. https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/canada-projects/b/bridgepoint-active-healthcare.

“Green Design and Features.” Bridgepoint Health. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.bridgepointhealth.ca/en/who-we-are/green-design-and-features.asp.

Architecture, Award, City, Collaborative, Completed Projects, conservation, Data, Functional, Healthcare, Honorable Mention, LEED, LEED Silver, Multi Use, Municipal, ON, ONT, Ontario, Partnership, Permanent, Public, Urban, Winner