Plans to be unveiled for proposed
hospital in New Orleans' 9th Ward

Students in Texas A&M's Architecture For Health studio unveiled designs Dec. 2 in the Wright Gallery for a proposed New Orleans hospital that will serve an area hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Floodwaters from broken levees poured into New Orleans' 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina struck, causing massive damage.

"Most of the city's infrastructure was identified as inadequate for future use, including the nearby Methodist Hospital," said George J. Mann, professor of architecture and co-director of the studio.
 
The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority issued a call for design concepts for a new health care facility in the 9th Ward. J. Wood, an architect and developer with Fiorano Ventures LLC of Schertz, Texas, and Bob Wehrmeyer, president of FAS Companies in San Antonio, are working with NORA, and, familiar with past work from the studio, approached Mann and Joseph J. McGraw, architecture professor emeritus, about the project. Wood is a former faculty member at the college. 

"Students created designs for a 90- 100-bed facility with an emergency center, surgery unit, intensive care units for adults and children, a post anesthesia care unit, radiology department, and a lab for blood and tissue analysis," said McGraw, who is co-directing the studio.

Plans for the facility, he added, are a beacon of hope for the revitalization and growth of the community.

Students designed the hospital with sustainability in mind, said Mann; green areas were also included in their models and drawings, because research has shown that such areas can help lead patients to quicker recoveries.

Phillip Cedeno, working with fellow studio member Salud Sierra, said they included photovoltaic cells and water collection elements in their building design.

"We placed parking areas underneath the building and surrounded it with a natural area to promote patient wellness," said Cedeno.

Plans to present the projects to officials in New Orleans are pending, said Mann.

Ruka Kosuge Okamoto, a visiting scholar from the University of Tokyo, and Kazu Okamoto, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Tokyo and a Kajima Corporation visiting scholar, are co-directing the studio with Mann and McGraw.

- Posted: Jan. 02, 2009 -