Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2016 - 10

DESIGN LEADERSHIP

cal Center of Central Texas which opened in 2007. It's the first LEED
Platinum certified hospital in the world. How does living architecture like
green roofs and walls contribute to the healthfulness of this extraordinary
hospital?
GV: By design, the integration of nature permeates the
experience, from both inside and outside the hospital. This is accomplished through seven interior courtyards, a 3.5 acre interactive
healing garden for patients, plant species that represent the diverse
ecological zones from which the young patients come from and access to views of nature from almost everywhere within the hospital.
The conventional approach to larger hospitals is a large monolithic
floor plate. What was achieved at Dell was to challenge this approach and achieve a healthier experience for staff, patients and
visitors. We know that this makes a significant difference in terms
of health recovery and staff performance.
SWP: How do you know this?
GV: Typical measures include patient length of stay, which is less
than the norm; reduced use of medication; reduced staff turnover
and enhance staff recruitment. These can save hospitals millions of
dollars in human resource costs annually.
SWP: One of the additional things you mentioned about Dell has to
do with the performance of the cafeteria sales, being much greater than
anticipated. Can you elaborate on that?
GV: After the hospital had been operating for a period of time
the hospital staff noticed much greater levels of cafeteria sales than
other children's hospitals. They wondered why. The difference is
that the cafeteria at Dell's opens is flanked on both sides on lush
vegetated courtyards, one of which has an elaborate waterfall,

which creates an inviting and compelling space for people who
are facing stressful experiences. It is a remarkable place of respite,
which features multiple biophilic elements, such as the sound of
water, textured surfaces, dappled light, prospect and refuge. It is an
environment that people fundamentally want to be in.
SWP: What do you see as the greatest challenges to reorienting design
with human well-being as the central focus?
GV: The greatest challenge is people's concern about cost as the
primary design consideration, and belief that to design different
will cost more. The other challenge is complacency! What we are
finding in terms of cost is that it is a mythology that a hospital like
Dell cannot be designed within a traditional budget. We've done
two studies with Perkins+Will on over 35 LEED certified hospitals
in 2008 and 2012. The studies indicated that the capital cost premium was only 0 to 5 per cent, and in the 2012 study we found that
for hospitals over 100,000 square feet the premium was only 0.67
per cent. These first costs premiums generated operational savings
from water and energy, reduced staff turnover, improved recruitment and being a more competitive choice for attracting patients.
SWP: What's on the horizon for Gail Vittori?
GV: We just celebrated our 40th year of operation for the
CMPBS so stay tuned!

FIND OUT MORE

Gail Vittori is a keynote speaker on Nov. 2, 2016 at the 14th Annual
CitiesAlive Conference, CitiesAlive.org. For more information on
CMPBS visit www.cmpbs.org

CASE STUDY:

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE BENEFITS
FROM POST-OCCUPANCY ANALYSIS
OF DELL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, AUSTIN

* Employee engagement increased by 5%
* Health and well-being of employees increased by 5%

ROOF COURTYARD, DELL'S
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / FALL 2016 / 10

Photo Courtesy of Steven Peck.

* Frequency of undesirable health outcomes decreased by 4%
* Reduction in staff turnover rate - 3.57% less than national
average saving $2.17 million in HR costs per year.
* Reduction of injuries and illnesses among staff by 7% vs.
original hospital savings $4.5 million per year.
Source: "Return on Investment of LEED Platinum Hospital", Harris, D., 2014.

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http://www.CitiesAlive.org http://www.cmpbs.org http://www.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2016