Heart Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Center

The new Heart Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Center will greatly expand the functional capacity of the Cardiology Department. The new building is an intervention in the existing hospital complex and serves to express the vitality and dynamism of the rapidly changing medical community it serves. A curving all-glass wall acts as a counterpoint to the existing masonry buildings and provides panoramic views of its spectacular setting to visitors, patients, and medical practitioners.
Inserted between two substantial existing hospital buildings, the new facility will provide a full range of medical services, including Diagnostics, Ambulatory Surgery, Cardiac Catheterization laboratories, Medical Practice suites, Critical Care units, and an Education/Conference center. The new hospital will be connected to the existing buildings on multiple levels, facilitating the continuity of medical departments and functional synergies.The most prominent architectural feature, the multilayered, curved glass wall, suggests the forward-looking energy of the new institution, both technologically progressive and personally responsive. The seating areas behind the glass wall enjoy spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Palisades beyond. The double-glass construction allows for both energy efficiency and visual transparency. Electronically controlled vertical shades track the movement of the sun, maintaining a temperate internal environment and presenting a constantly changing façade. At night, strategically deployed lighting refracts through the glass envelope, which is suspended from the uppermost floor by a web of stainless steel cables.
The new Heart Center provides a full range of cardiac care on six levels, including vascular ultrasound, cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology, surgical robotics, practice suites, and an expanded ICU/CCU. A four-story atrium makes clear the vertical organization of the facility and brings to the interior natural light, spatial generosity, and a visual connection to the blue of the New York City sky.
The arrival from the principal patient drop-off area is through a tall, sheer glass wall, the transparency of which is an invitation to enter. Strategically placed art draws the visitor into the building and a curved and gently ascending ramp leads to the skylit glazed atrium. The education and conference center is directly accessible from the main atrium and provides reception space, an auditorium seating 200, and four flexible conference rooms. Fiber optic connection between the procedure/operating rooms above and the auditorium, as well as satellite uplink capability, will greatly enhance the educational potential of the center.An entrance and vehicular drop-off from 165th Street is accomplished via a landscaped arrival court under a sheltering glass canopy.

The material palette of the building, water-white glass, stainless steel, aluminum, and limestone is intended to represent the clarity, dignity, and enduring values of the institution it serves. (source)