Healthcare Design - August 2020 - 48

AWA R D O F M E R I T

SOUTHERN CHARM

The Medical University of South Carolina Shawn
Jenkins Children's Hospital and Pearl Tourville
Women's Pavilion project serves the region in a setting
inspired by its surroundings By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis

rated a full-sensory design response, including
considerations for scale, travel paths, creating predictability, and providing control over
equipment and lighting that may trigger a negative response throughout spaces a child would
experience during care.
MUSC clinical representatives attended these
council design meetings and described firsthand
experiences of needing to meet children in their
cars in the parking garage because they were
triggered before entering the existing facility.
We heard from a doctor who had already modified an MUSC adult emergency department
treatment space to be more spectrum friendly
with reduced visual clutter, lighting, and acoustical considerations. Betsy McMillan, director
of the MUSC Child Life program, was integral
to the success of the design. In addition to the
abovementioned solutions, she worked with us
to include a sensory room in a Child Life playroom that would be supplemental to portable
sensory equipment that is used bedside.

The design team
worked with local
photographer John
Duckworth, who was
commissioned to
capture the "essence
of the marsh." His
work was reproduced in a film layer
between glass, a
large installation that
greets visitors to the
hospital.

Share with us your approach to the impressively integrated art program.
BaRoss: The design team worked with the
clinical leadership and Patient Family Advisory Council to imagine the building 's conceptual theme, "Stories of the Lowcountry."
These ideas informed the interior design as
well as a framework of thematic walls and destinations to enhance wayfinding and create visual interest. Working with MUSC's curators,
with connections to the local arts community,

THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins
Children's Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women's Pavilion deliver
integrated medical care for children and obstetrical services for women
in a project that's thoroughly reflective of its home in Charleston, S.C.
Completed in January, the 625,000-square-foot building responds to
a range of complex needs for its varied patient populations as well as
visiting family members and staff. Jurors were impressed not only with
the thoughtful design elements that responded to those requirements
but with how the environment immerses building users in a rich, cultural
landscape inspired by "Stories of the Lowcountry" that communicate the
unique flavor of the region through numerous layers of art and graphics.
The project was submitted by Perkins and Will (New York and Atlanta) and
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture (Charleston). Here, lead designers
Carolyn BaRoss, principal at Perkins and Will, and Aiko Tanabe, associate
at Perkins and Will (both of New York), and Randy Maxwell, senior
associate at Perkins and Will (Atlanta), share their perspectives on some of
the design elements most appreciated by the jury.

48

AUGUST 2020

© 2020 HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Healthcare Design: The project is very sensitive to the needs of all
children, including those with autism or other sensory issues. How
did you work to respond to the full sensory experience?
Carolyn BaRoss: The design team met regularly with the MUSC Patient
Family Advisory Council throughout the design process. The meaningful
involvement of family volunteers for this project was extraordinary. This
council included family members whose children are on the [autism] spectrum and who were able to convey experiential concerns and help inform
a holistic approach to the operational and design solutions. We incorpo-

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Healthcare Design - August 2020

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