BRAMPTON CIVIC HOSPITAL

Our winning entry for The Brampton Civic Hospital competition is now part of the largest health care facility within the William Osler Health Centre District and the third largest hospital to be built in Canada. Using a “horizontal hospital” typology, this majestic example of modern institutional architecture grows out of the low two-storey brick suburban neighbourhood of northern Brampton.

One of the reasons we were successful in winning this limited design competition, can be attributed to our six-part master plan, which thoroughly addressed this large suburban property, while remaining focused on clinical site issues.

The Plan:
(1) We offered pedestrian and vehicular access from all points of the site, with six very distinct entry points.
(2) As a safety concern, the site’s main corner intersection at Bovaird Drive East (east/west) and Bramalea Road (north/south), was designed to prevent potential serious accidents, caused when anxious drivers carrying patients in dire need of medical attention attempt to rush through the intersection, to get to the emergency department.
(3) Upon entering the site, pedestrians and vehicles are brought to a “ring road”, which organizes the site internally and provides access to all buildings and departments on the medical campus (treatment diagnostic centre, which includes the emergency department; inpatient building; central utility plant/parking deck).
(4) This same “ring road” also provides access to all public parking lots, the parking deck and the building’s main entrance, fully supported by extra-large signs to make navigating this medical campus as user-friendly as possible.
(5) Landscaping, using a variety of tree and plant types, has been configured to line all roads and encompass all public parking lots in a picturesque manner, providing greenery at every turn. In contrast, the landscape design of the main entrance is more formal – appropriate for its hierarchy.
(6) Lastly, to provide stress relief for both convalescing patients and visiting family members, this medical site offers a walking promenade that begins at the main entrance, with two very distinct destinations. On the site’s eastern side, at the storm water retention pond, a large, raised terrace has been built, complete with benches and a voluminous modern fabric umbrella, allowing full repose. Opposite, on the site’s southwestern corner, is a large oval-shaped terrace paved in a variety of hard surfaces, complemented with many trees and benches. Here again, rest and relaxation are offered to the weary pedestrian, to support their mental health.

Note: For Brampton Civic Hospital building write-up, statistics, materials and general program, see Institutional Portfolio – Brampton Civic Hospital.

LOCATION: Brampton, Ontario

ARCHITECT: Parkin Associates Ltd.
+ Adamson Associates Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Partner-in-Charge of Design (Adamson)

COMPETITION: Private/Public Partnership (P3) – First Place

CLIENT: Healthcare Infrastructure Company of Canada