Master of Architecture student Joohyun Lee was one of 16 finalists in the international Architects for Health’s “First Student Health Design Competition.” She and her fellow finalists in presented their projects at the Royal Institute of British Architects headquarters in London.
“I would like to thank Craig Beale of HKS, Inc. and members of Ryder HKS for supporting me and sponsoring my visit to London,” said Lee after the whirlwind experience.
She left College Station at 12:50 p.m. on a Wednesday, arrived in London at 8 a.m. Thursday for the 7 p.m. presentation. Beale said Lee was too excited and nervous to sleep during the trip and was one “tired young lady” at the London award ceremony.
Lee’s competition entry, a critical care tower for the Charles E. Schmidt Medical Center in Boca Raton, Fla., was developed during her healthcare design studio with Kirk Hamilton, associate professor of architecture. Lee’s design employed “the healing power of nature” to facilitate patient recovery. In it, each intensive care room is “aligned along the side of the building receiving the most outside view of the natural surrounding in Boca Raton.”
“Patients in rooms with windows,” reads her design proposal, “particularly windows with pleasant views to nature, have shorter recovery times and fewer complications and request less pain medication.”
Lee said she “tried to design the space so that the building seems like one simple volume.” Her use of transparent, translucent and aluminum finishes in a random order enabled “every space in the building to be filled with natural light.”
Architects for Health is an independent group formed by architects to promote better health care by bringing together organizations and individuals who share an interest in excellence in health care facility design.
