Aurora Health Care has over the last decade and a half emerged as a significant health care presence in southeast Wisconsin, and those of us at Kahn who have developed a close relationship with members of the Aurora team would like to think we’ve played a significant role in Aurora’s success. Fortunately for us, we’re not alone in that assessment.
“Kahn’s insight, creativity, and hard work have contributed greatly to Aurora’s growth in southeastern Wisconsin,” says Michael Scholl, Hammes’ Vice President. “From the outset they’ve treated our problems and concerns as their own. They have been crucial not only to Aurora’s continued expansion but also to their growing reputation as caring health care professionals who provide the highest standards of care.” more...
Employing a design philosophy whose operative assumption is that a comfortable environment is empowering to patients engaged in treatment and recovery, Aurora – as guided by Kahn – has expanded the breadth of its health care system while enhancing the intimacy of its patients’ experiences. Each new location or building improvement has added to Aurora’s reputation as a premier provider of primary care physician services in a single, all-inclusive setting.
Expansion and Comfort
When Aurora and its developer, Hammes Company, approached us in the early 1990s we understood they were imaginative and farsighted thinkers – and that Kahn would have to match them in creativity and enthusiasm. To be awarded the initial project we endured a comprehensive evaluation process, requiring us to compete against – and rise above – more than 30 other design firms. Aurora’s broad and grand vision contemplated a different kind of health care experience – not just an accessible, competitive option but a truly caring health care center; an honest-to-goodness alternative to the cold and sterile institutions of the day.
The Kahn-Aurora approach emphasizes a timeless architecture of grace and simplicity. Aurora Health Care facilities are patient-centered, and Kahn’s healing approach to architecture takes the office building’s efficiency and adds the warmth of a resort and the nostalgia of a university. The challenge was to turn treatment rooms into therapeutic retreats; transform labyrinthine building systems into inviting suites of specialized care; and make hospitals seem more like family-centered learning and healing centers.
Passion and Solutions
For every Aurora passion, Kahn found a principled solution. Aurora is known for its patient-focused “one-stop” facilities, so Kahn designed two separate corridors – one for the public, the other for patients and treatment-providers – and placed them on opposite sides of a lobby “hinge.” Similarly, Aurora was adamant about creating supportive environments in which patients feel centered and empowered, so Kahn incorporated amenities such as ponds and healing gardens, as well as abundant views of nature to create a quiet atmosphere in which healing can thrive. Additionally, Kahn incorporated fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and soothing interior finishes to promote Aurora’s emphasis on prevention and wellness for staff members as well as patients and their families.
Many of these concepts are attributable to the Planetree approach – a design philosophy dedicated to transforming the health care experience by viewing its every aspect from the patient’s perspective. Aurora fully embraced this methodology in the early 2000s and in 2004 two Kahn-Aurora facilities – one in Green Bay and one in Oshkosh – were awarded the Planetree organization’s “Spirit of Caring Award” in recognition of architectural and interior design conducive to health and healing.
Kahn has also developed dramatic themes, applied them consistently, and created a readily identifiable trademark appearance and an unmistakable Aurora Health Care brand, including:
- Teal, the trademark Aurora hue;
- Exterior glazing systems and other shapes, materials, and colors rooted in nature, including reddish brick with limestone accents and green tinted glass; and
- Barrel-vaulted canopies and roof screens providing neighborly views of the facilities.
Contentment and Progress
Cost control and speed-to-market have been top priorities for both Aurora and Hammes Company, and Kahn has always adhered to tight construction schedules and delivered on time – and sometimes under budget. In addition to the invaluable contributions made by Aurora’s longtime partner-developer/program manager, Hammes Company, other indispensable partners have included KJWW Engineering Consultants and construction manager M.A. Mortenson Company, with whom Kahn has regularly exchanged 3-D Building Information Modeling data to eliminate model reconstruction and expedite shop drawing production and 4-D construction simulation.
Building by building (nearly 40 projects and counting) and year after year, Aurora and Kahn have developed a series of landmark structures – and a number of close personal relationships.
“On our first project” remembers Kahn Senior Vice President and Director of Design, Architecture and Sustainability Alan Cobb, “we designed the original prototype on five different sites before a final decision was made on the land purchase. Then, establishing Aurora’s brand identity was one of the highlights of my entire career. It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to contribute to this great success story.”
With lessons learned from our ongoing relationship and an ever-present eye on the future, Kahn and Aurora are continuing to incorporate client and user feedback into new facility planning. They also continue to develop strategies that will not only satisfy the needs of baby boomers, with their heightened focus on personalized care, but that will also help address issues related to the overall stability of our health care system.
Passion and Principles. The Perfect Ratio.
Aurora and Kahn. The Perfect Ratio.
