Southwest Washington Medical Center, E.W. and Mary Firstenburg Tower, Vancouver; Award of Excellence/built.(Special Feature: 22nd Annual Design Awards)

Modern Healthcare, September, 2007

In August 2005, a new hospital opened in Vancouver, Wash., and for the first time in its 150-year history, Southwest Washington Medical Center had competition. It looked to Seattle-based architects NBBJ for help facing up to the challenge.

Richard Dallam, an NBBJ partner and leader of its global healthcare practice, says Southwest Washington officials felt a need for renewal that included not only a desire to meet the needs of patients and staff, but also to promote wellness for the Vancouver community.

This was accomplished with the construction of a new, eight-story facility and the transformation of an adjacent parking lot-that covered about three city blocks-into a park. Design award judges gave high marks to the projects that made use of natural...

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