Bringing Community-Driven Care to Western Nebraska

Set within the central Nebraska landscape, the Grand Island Regional Medical Center was established to serve as the anchor to a new health and wellness focused development serving the community of Grand Island. The project was initiated by a group of local doctors and business leaders who wanted to offer Grand Island patients an experience that was community-driven and responsive to their needs. The new hospital is integrated strongly into the surrounding community and landscape, with access to nearby walking trails, healing gardens, health and wellness-focused businesses, and living and hospitality opportunities.

Modern Vernacular in a Regional Material Palette

The architectural design of the 173,000-square-foot, 64-bed hospital is inspired by providing a regionally influenced approach. A clean modern design is combined with a regional material palette that references the rich vernacular of Central Nebraska. The red, open-joint metal panel system conjures up familiar images of the classic red barn, while a ledgestone-patterned precast base establishes a foundational plinth that mimics the fieldstone walls found in the region.

Views to the Great Plains

The primary mechanical systems have been integrated into the second floor, allowing the upper patient rooms to be elevated over the landscape and feature expansive, framed views. The façade was developed so that the patient tower windows were passively shaded and reduced unwanted solar heat gain. Daylight is used throughout the hospital to provide clear orientation for visitors and a seamless blending of the interior and exterior environments. Filling the space with daylight also drove much of the circulation strategies and design, with the goal of always having corridors lead to a view out to the exterior. At the patient floors, large family waiting spaces were oriented at each end of the tower with expansive views over the Nebraska prairie landscape.

Local Art

Wanting to move beyond the typical installation of art on walls to aid in the healing process, the project team prioritized tying the interior design strongly to the natural U.S. Midwestern landscape. To accomplish this, the team commissioned a local photographer to showcase over 90 unique landscape images to be included as full-height graphic wall coverings throughout the hospital. Every patient room has its own distinct graphic near the family waiting space, with lighting designed in such a way that the patient tower resembles a vibrant mural in the evening and night from the exterior.

The hospital is designed to grow with the community, with flexibility in the design that will allow for the expansion of the surgery and emergency departments on the site, and a vertical expansion of the patient tower to 128 beds. The Grand Island Regional Medical Center will serve its community with a patient-focused approach and an inviting, modern design that honours its surrounding region.