In 2021, DIAC published its Design Impacts Framework to demonstrate how positive design interventions in Placemaking can be assessed and measured. In the third phase of this research, DIAC is applying the Framework to projects in other disciplines.
Casey House – Hariri Pontarini/IBI/Entro
Photo Credit: Doublespace
Casey House in Toronto is a hospital unlike any other. Located in downtown Toronto, Casey House provides ground-breaking care for people living with and at risk of HIV.
Casey House is not just a health care facility. The vision for Casey House since it opened in 1988 as a hospice for people with HIV/AIDS was always to offer compassionate care, and compassionate, holistic health care is still the focus today. After 35 years, the outlook for those living with the virus has drastically and positively changed, and the function of Casey House has changed with it. It was time for the organization to make a bolder statement about the work they do and the people they serve with a move to a new historic house, restored by ERA Architects, and an architectural expansion by Hariri Pontarini Architects, which extends the feeling of warmth and home. As part of this project, Entro developed the exterior identification and supported the interior designers from IBI Group with the wayfinding signage and donor recognition.
The expansion enhanced the functionality of the hospital. With a new outpatient program servicing a roster of 500 registered clients and 14 private rooms on an inpatient unit, the 59,000-square-foot addition brings much needed space and modernized amenities to the heritage-designated Victorian mansion. The new structure embraces the existing building, preserving its qualities and organizing day-to-day user experience around a landscaped central garden court.
The signage program supports and expresses the brand. The look and feel was in part inspired by the pattern and texture of the architectural design, which uses a grid of different coloured bricks, varying lime stone finishes and tinted glass to represent a quilt. The quilt has been a major figure in the HIV/AIDS movement ever since San Francisco AIDS activists established it as a memorial to those who passed away as a result of the virus. To mirror this design, Entro used a series of alternating rectangles with differing hues along the entire spectrum of red. This is also an abstract nod to the heart – a symbol of compassion, and the central feature of Casey House’s identity and brand.
The exterior pylon sign acts as both an identifier and a public art piece, echoing the visual idea of the quilt in its own unique graphic way. It uses a wider array of warmer and cooler hues as well as textural components, as each rectangle protrudes from the centre in a range of different widths. “As designers, we were not looking for the typical metal pylon used to identify an institutionalized health facility. We were looking for a sign, the first visible “voice” of the organization that reflects the transparency and lightness of the building,” says Udo Schliemann, Entro’s Principal Creative Director. The landmark sign is at once simple and nuanced, monumental and intimate, visual and tactile, and designed as much to be impactful from a distance as it is to be complex up close.
In the rooms, wood is used extensively to increase the environmental aspect of this project. Through operable windows that allow for fresh air and cross-ventilation, every inpatient enjoys an unobstructed garden view from their bed. The windows flood patient spaces with natural light and provide a connection to the outside world, making the hospital feel like a home. Sustainable design elements include high-efficiency tinted glass, rainwater collection cisterns and locally sourced materials.
Health care facilities also require extreme sterility and therefore utilize materials that can withstand frequent cleaning and will not hold bacteria. This is especially true for facilities like Casey House, which serve individuals with compromised immune systems. To accommodate this need for infection prevention controls, Entro used acrylic and metal to encase all information.
The new building is life-affirming in the way it conveys a warm and welcoming atmosphere full of light, transparency and openness. It sets the stage for optimism and confidence in the care provided at Casey House and, along with the exceptional compassionate care, fosters the well-being of clients while reducing anxiety and stigma around this disease. The unique interplay and contributions of architecture, the interior design and signage program has created a building that enhances and supports Casey House’s purpose to transform lives and health care through compassion and social justice.
The project has been honoured with the
National Urban Design Award, Award of Excellence (2020),
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award (2019),
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Governor General’s Medal in Architecture (2018),
AIA Healthcare Design Award (2017), and
Canadian Architect Award of Excellence (2013) for its high design and respect for client welfare.
Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for excellence in conservation (2017)
Graphic Design USA,
Chicago Atheneum Good Design Award,
CODA Awards
Learn more...
caseyhouse.ca
hariripontarini.com/projects/casey-house
entro.com/project/CaseyHouse2
