I didn’t have the time to participate in this design competition from Kaiser Permanente, a health care providing organization, entitled “Small Hospital, Big Idea,” but I’m really looking forward to the results. The design competition seeks:

“seeks design concepts for a small, eco-conscious, patient- and family-friendly hospital that uses the best in emerging medical technology to coordinate and deliver care to Kaiser Permanente members.”

Kaiser Permanente Southern California President Benjamin Chu, MD, said “We are not just looking for dynamic building designs. We want a partner with fresh ideas on how technology and medicine can reshape our current medical delivery infrastructure to provide even more exceptional, effective, and convenient care to our members.” (quotes from here.)

According to their website, the competition registered more than 300 teams from more than 32 countries.

Today they announced the shortlist of 9 finalists. Most are names from the US, with a couple of big firms in the mix, though one finalist is a partnership from Iceland and the UK. I’m disappointed that there are no images to go along with the finalists. I’d like to know why they were chosen. Those finalists present to jurors beginning May 25th, and Stage 1 winners are announced May 31st. Stay tuned. I really hope they show a lot more of the images from the competition.

I’m interested in a few items from the finalists. First: How is the Biological, Psychological and Social needs of the patients and community members taken care of? Second, what are the estimated financial breakdowns for construction and running the facilities? And third, (related to the first and second) what sustainable aspects are being incorporated into the projects?

If you were a patient at one of these hospitals what would you like to see?