Gresham Smith is proud to announce the completion of a new inpatient tower on the University of Florida Health North campus in Jacksonville, Florida. The third phase of the master planned campus, the 124-bed, 174,000-square-foot tower expands acute care and adds two new service lines — rehabilitation and concierge medicine — for the North Jacksonville community.
The new facility includes a 48-bed rehabilitation unit with a state-of-the-art two-story rehabilitation gym and 76 acuity-adaptable patient rooms that can flex based on demand. Additionally, the tower includes a premier four-bed concierge medicine suite.
“UF Health North has been an integral part of the Jacksonville community since it opened nearly a decade ago, and we’re proud to once again partner on another important project,” said Rick Bouchereau, AIA, LEED AP, vice president at Gresham Smith. “Throughout the design process, our team focused on creating a hospitality-inspired experience driven by the latest technology. The new facility empowers staff to deliver the cutting-edge care that UF Health is known for, while also enabling patients to recover in a calm, comfortable environment.”
The design was inspired by the Intracoastal Waterway. The contemporary exterior is cohesive with the other buildings on the UF Health North campus, with a signature silver ribbon winding through the façade that serves as a geometric interpretation of the inland marshes. The inspiration extends to the interior, where each of the six floors is designed to represent Florida’s diverse waterways: spring, river, marsh, shore, sky and rain. Neutral finishes shift focus to the expansive exterior views and abundant photography throughout the space, while midnight blue, gray, white, olive and chartreuse provide pops of color.
Creating further connections to nature, the all-private patient rooms offer an abundance of natural light with views of the campus’ green roofs. Rehabilitation patients have access to an outdoor rehabilitation terrace, family waiting spaces include a balcony that overlooks the wetlands, and a healing garden offers respite.
Each patient room is equipped with a multifaceted system that enables patients to control the room’s lighting, temperature and solar shades from bed, enhancing safety by reducing fall risks. Additionally, staff can use the system for bed tracking, discharge instructions and telemedicine services, enhancing efficiencies and streamlining care delivery.
This project is a continuation of Gresham Smith’s relationship with UF Health North. In 2012, the firm developed the campus master plan, followed by the six-story, 200,000-square-foot ambulatory care center in 2015. In 2017, Gresham Smith designed the five-story, 92-bed inpatient tower and central energy plant.
Gresham Smith provided architecture, interior design and experiential design and wayfinding services for the project.
