Some design careers are defined by a single project, while others span decades, leaving a lasting mark on the evolution of healthcare architecture. For Mary Chernoff, Senior Designer on Parkin’s interior design team, her work at the Royal Columbian Hospital represents a remarkable, full-circle story spanning more than thirty years.
Three Decades of Impact
Mary’s journey with the hospital began early in her career when she worked on the major interior components of the Columbia Tower, which opened in 1992. Decades later, she returned to the exact same campus bringing her wealth of experience to the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower.
Working as part of Parkin’s interior design team, Mary helped shape spaces specifically engineered to support patients, families, and healthcare staff with warmth, clarity, and care.
The “Journeys” Design Concept
The interior environment of the new Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower moves far beyond traditional, sterile clinical spaces. It is guided by “Journeys,” a narrative-driven design framework focused on human-centred details, natural inspiration, and intuitive navigation.
The design team integrated several key elements to create a welcoming, less institutional atmosphere for everyone moving through the building:
- Biophilic Design: Incorporating natural inspiration to foster calm and healing.
- Intuitive Wayfinding: Using strategic flooring patterns and graphics to simplify navigation.
- Warmth and Light: Carefully balancing lighting and colour palettes to soften the clinical experience.
A Legacy of Thoughtful Healthcare Design
Mary’s enduring connection to the Royal Columbian Hospital—from the Columbia Tower to the Jim Pattison Acute Care Tower—demonstrates her lifelong dedication to enhancing the healthcare experience through interior architecture. It also reflects Parkin’s ongoing commitment to designing environments that profoundly serve their local communities.
We congratulate Mary on this meaningful career milestone and her continued contributions to healthcare design.
- Architects for Royal Columbian Hospital: Parkin in collaboration with HDR Architects
Read More:
- Explore more about the design thinking behind the tower on our site.
- Catch Mary’s full story featured on CBC