The new 173 bed Women and Newborn Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba will replace the existing 60 year old Women’s Pavilion. The 37,000 sq.m. hospital is designed to support the patient and her family through programs which include inpatient and outpatient gynaecology, a specialized surgical suite, inpatient and outpatient obstetrics programs for low and high risk births, a single room model neonatal intensive care unit as well as administrative and research support areas. The building is a five storey structure above one level of underground parking connected by tunnel and an overhead bridge to critical medical support services. Linkages will connect to the central power plant.
Using a public consultation process, a vision statement was developed to guide the design development, to create: a place to serve the unique and diverse health care needs of women through the cycle of life; a place to advance care, through excellence in research and education; and a place that is welcoming, respectful, calming and peaceful.
The physical organization of the building expresses the concepts of coherence, connectedness, and restoration. All areas of the hospital are respectful of women and their needs, and particularly the aboriginal women who will be the prime users. The interior design narrative is rooted in the “wildflowers” ofManitobaand these have been integrated as art and landmark elements throughout the interior of the building; they are also reflected through the incorporation of images of the urban elm canopy on the building’s exterior. Designed in association with Smith Carter Architects.