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SickKids Slaight Family Atrium

Project Details

The SickKids Slaight Family Atrium has been internationally recognized for its ground-breaking redefinition of paediatric healthcare architecture. With the understanding that light is important to healing, the nine-storey 572-bed glass-roofed atrium patient tower was designed to let in as much natural light as possible.

Through a series of additions made in the past, this famous children’s hospital had covered a tight downtown site with various buildings, yet its outdated facilities were in urgent need of upgrading. The challenges were finding space on the existing site, integrating the new addition into a well-functioning hospital, and most importantly, achieving an environment that responds to the emotional needs of a sick child.

By demolishing an existing parking garage and decanting two older buildings, half the site was emptied for the new program. The addition integrates well with the existing site in its massing and materiality though the extensive use of brick. Special Renaissance stone added to relieve the monotony of the existing buildings without losing a sense of coherence for the whole complex. Pedestrian traffic from the city demanded a new entrance from the east. An interior “main street” links this entrance with the internal public space of activities (cafeteria, gift shops) to the existing west entrance at University Avenue.

The Atrium is a result of a rigorous investigation to achieve the most effective building form. The maze of corridors in traditional institutions tends to isolate the institution into fragments, where no sense of belonging to a hospital family is achieved. The atrium design establishes the visual integration of all parts into the total entity of a children’s hospital. It achieves a sense of belonging, a family feeling within the institution for staff, patients, and visitors. This belonging is an important factor in the hospital environment, one that has fostered an understanding of emotional well-being in the healing process as opposed to a mere machine-like performance.

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Project Details

Location

Toronto, Ontario

Client

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)

Status

Complete, 1994

Size

1,201,000 sq.ft. (112,000 sq.m.)

Scope

Architecture, Interior Design

Zeidler Roberts Partnership Architects

Awards

American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health – Citation of Recognition for Pediatric Intensive Care, 1995

Financial Post – Fourth Annual Financial Post Design Effectiveness Award, Best Architectural Design, 1995

National Symposium on Healthcare Design – Sixth Annual Healthcare Environment Award, New Construction Category, 1994

Canadian Architect – Award of Excellence, 1986

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