Children’s Healthcare Of Atlanta At Hughes Spalding Declared First Leed Gold Hospital In State Of Georgia

ATLANTA — Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding – designed by HKS Architects in association with Turner/Duckett – earned LEED Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system.  The project is the first hospital in Georgia to achieve LEED Gold status. 

Children’s at Hughes Spalding, a part of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta pediatric healthcare system, opened in August 2010.  The 71,000-square-foot facility is a monumental leap forward – revitalizing pediatric healthcare delivery in downtown Atlanta.  Designed and developed to address the breadth of child care medical needs, Children’s at Hughes Spalding provides exceptional care to serve Atlanta’s youth. 

HKS’s architectural team considered all aspects of the design and use of materials from the inception of the project to achieve LEED Gold certification.  Some of the most notable features include  rainwater collection for site irrigation; recycled materials from the demolished five-story structure built in 1952; high solar reflectance index surfaces for the roof and hardscape to reduce heat island effect; occupancy sensors to conserve energy;  and use of natural light.  Additionally, the hospital was designed to be pedestrian-friendly with bicycle racks and ease of access to public transportation.

“Working with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, HKS has helped develop a sustainable architectural style and brand that pervades all of the Children’s campuses,” said Brian Polinsky, project architect with HKS.  “Today, Children’s at Hughes Spalding serves as a gateway to the downtown assemblage of health facilities – a green-focused, urban health park.  We are extremely excited about the impact this new facility is having upon the downtown community of Atlanta and the sustainable healthcare community.”

About HKS
HKS, Inc. is a leading architectural design firm ranked among the top-four architectural/engineering firms, according to Building Design+Construction magazine and among the top-seven architectural firms, according to BD World Architecture magazine. Since its founding in 1939, HKS has completed construction projects totaling more than $66 billion in more than 1,038 cities located in 46 states, the District of Columbia and 64 foreign countries. 

The firm operates from 23 worldwide offices, including a local office in Atlanta, Ga.  The Atlanta office, opened in 2000, provides design services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (campuses at Children’s at Egleston, Children’s at Scottish Rite and Children’s at Hughes Spalding), Emory Crawford Long, Piedmont Hospital, Northeast Georgia Medical Center and Gwinnett Braves Cool Ray Ballpark.
To learn more, visit www.hksinc.com