A PLACE OF ENCHANTMENT AND HEALING FOR HEROIC
CHILDREN AND COMFORT FOR THEIR FAMILIES
Working closely with Miller Children’s Hospital’s administration,
and staff, TAYLOR created an “architecture of distraction” that
engages and comforts both children and their families.
Visioning and Design for the Community. Listening to what
more than 200 community members desired in the expanded
pediatric facilities, TAYLOR’s visioning process yielded the story
of “the Hero’s Journey with a Castle Refuge” took shape.
The design team focused on designing through the eyes
of children. These children travel through illness and injury,
treatment and fearful experiences, to overcome enormous
odds. The goal for TAYLOR was to create a playful environment
where the natural energy of youth could support the healing
process, while at the same time designing and equipping stateof-the-art spaces where physicians, nurses, staff – and families
– could work their healing magic. Additional challenges for the
architects were to make the building seismically secure and
environmentally friendly. What they couldn’t know at the outset,
but which they overcame with their own near-heroic grace, was
that they would need to accomplish their work during a perfect
storm of economic challenges.
Program.
•  Dedicated pediatric surgery suite with 7 operating rooms
•  Pediatric imaging center
•  48 neonatal intensive care beds
•  24 pediatric oncological private patient rooms