Junior and senior Texas A&M University architecture students
unveiled 14 design concepts for a 269,000-square-foot medical
center, to be located on a 40-acre site in Mansfield in the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, at a Dec. 2, 2005 public design
review at the Dallas headquarters of HKS, Inc.
The 14 student teams — a total of 29 students — collaborated
on the project with architects from HKS, an international architecture/engineering
firm, and with facility planners working with the project developer,
Texas Health Resources (THR), the largest health care system
in North Texas. The students were enrolled in an architecture-for-health
studio directed by George J. Mann, the Ronald L. Skaggs Professor
for Health Facilities Design at Texas A&M's College of
Architecture.
For the semester-long project, Mann said, the students focused
on sustainable, resource-friendly design solutions emphasizing
energy conservation, renewable resources and modern evidence-based
design concepts that can facilitate state-of-the-art medical
practices, as well as patient wellbeing and recovery. Furthermore,
he said, the students incorporated solutions for "surge" capacity,
or the ability to respond to extreme disasters that might overwhelm
the region's existing health care infrastructure.
"The project offered students a unique hands-on and very
real opportunity to work in tandem with visionary clients and
top-drawer
design professionals," Mann said. "A real-world project
means so much more to the students than a routine hypothetical
homework assignment. By exposing students to the process of
working with a client, they learn the art of listening and
being responsive, and as a result of working with the highly
accomplished architects and engineers at HKS and THR, the students
are extremely motivated and their learning experience is incredibly
enhanced."
Both HKS and THR invited the A&M students to explore alternative
designs for the Mansfield project. As an advisory teaching
firm, over the years HKS has worked closely with A&M architecture
studios on a variety of projects. Since the inception of Texas
A&M's architecture-for-health program in 1966, Mann said,
A&M design studios have tackled over 500 health-related
design projects for a variety of clients and organizations
at locations around the world.
"The program focuses on case study approaches to health
facility design, allowing students to work on real projects,
with actual
clients and budgets," said Mann. "Through its interdisciplinary
approach to problem solving, the program encourages students
to work with doctors and allied health professionals, as well
as experts in all of the built environment professions."
Mann said the students' design explorations could have a significant
influence on the architects' final designs. Their solutions
are incredibly diverse, he noted, and each one addresses issues
of importance to modern health care facilities such as energy
conservation, natural lighting and indoor and outdoor gardens.
One design, for instance, incorporates wind turbines which
can generate and store electrical power. Several designs include
rooftop gardens that can reduce the effect of solar heating
on the building while providing serene green space that can
be viewed and accessed by patients, visitors and staff. The
designs also pay strict attention to building's orientation
to maximize natural lighting throughout the facility.
"With our design we are hoping to change the idea of a hospital
from a remote institution to a wellness center integrated into
the community environment," said Courtney Brinegar, an
A&M student who worked for HKS last summer and is currently
participating on one of the Mansfield project teams.
Other professionals working with students on the Mansfield
project include Jeffrey C. Stouffer, architect, principal and
design director with HKS; Brian Holmes, a professional engineer
and senior vice president of real estate operations for THR;
and Joseph J. McGraw, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Texas A&M
University.
The city of Mansfield is located in Tarrant County, Texas in
the southern portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
"The explosive growth in Mansfield and in the southern portion
of the Metroplex requires significant investment by all sectors
of the business community, and in particular, the health care
community," said Clayton Chandler, Mansfield city manager. "We
are pleased that quality health care companies, such as Texas
Health Resources, are choosing to invest in our city and its
future. We look forward to a strong relationship with THR as
they fully realize their plans for Mansfield. It is a partnership
that will be beneficial to the economic vitality of our community
and beneficial to the growing health care needs of our residents."
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