University of Pennsylvania Plans 1.5M-SQ-FT Hospital Pavilion

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania will build a $15-billion new hospital on Penn Medicine’s West Philadelphia campus. The Pavilion, which will house inpatient care for the Abramson Cancer Center, heart and vascular medicine and surgery, neurology and neurosurgery and a new emergency department, is expected to be completed in 2021. The facility will be the largest capital project in Penn’s history and Philadelphia’s most sophisticated and ambitious healthcare building project.

The Pavilion will house 500 private patient rooms and 47 operating rooms in a 1.5-million-square-foot, 17-story facility on the former site of Penn Tower, across the street from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and adjacent to the medical campus’s outpatient hub, the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.

Among the distinguishing features in The Pavilion:

• An adaptable room concept through which patient rooms are equipped to flex between an intensive care unit setup if needed, and a standard room as patients recover or as the patient population and caregiving needs change in the coming years. Each spacious room will include a private bath and a comfortable area for family members and caregivers to stay close by.
• A seamless flow of operations – from the ED through hybrid operating rooms used for both surgeries and high-tech interventional procedures through recovery and discharge – enhanced by technology and the latest research on how to facilitate and improve care team collaboration.
• Telemedicine functionality that allows remote monitoring and consultations, as well as technology to link patients to their friends and families at all times. In-room technology will strengthen communication between patients, families and care teams.
• An eco-friendly construction, design and operations plan that fortifies Penn’s commitment to the environment, through pursuit of LEED certification, and innovations like the reuse of water, 100 percent outside air and park-like, outdoor green space for patients, families and staff.

The design and planning process for The Pavilion has been orchestrated by PennFirst, an Integrated Project Delivery team consisting of HDR, Foster+Partners and BR+A, as well as construction management by L.F. Driscoll and Balfour Beatty. Staff from each group – as well as Penn Medicine clinical, facilities and patient experience experts – work collaboratively in a specially designed integration space to ensure cohesion and strategic planning and reduce waste at each step of the project.

The building’s design has been informed by extensive and inclusive consultation with Penn Medicine staff, from physicians and nurses to environmental and dining services workers. These groups have engaged with the design team through a series of tours and patient care simulations in multiple full-size mock-ups of the new facility’s inpatient units, as well as operating rooms, family waiting areas and spaces for staff. Patients and families have also participated in tours and provided feedback to inform plans for the Pavilion’s patient experience.

Photos courtesy of Penn Medicine.