The design team created a healthy healing environment within a greenfield medical and mixed-use development just west of Austin. The Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Lakeway primary acute care hospital sits on a spectacular 274,000-square-foot facility that affords patients, staff and visitors exceptional views to the Central Texas landscape. The project achieved both LEED Silver certification and a 3-star rating from Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB).
Key to the building program is the ability for the facility to expand, because the Lakeway community has experienced a steady growth pattern for over a decade that is expected to continue. The facility initially includes 106 licensed beds with shell space to accommodate an additional 40 beds. The hospital has been designed to permit lateral expansion at each level as well as vertical expansion for additional inpatient beds.
The architectural response is multifaceted, but finds its inspiration in both the local landscape and the newest sustainable technologies. Natural materials are used throughout. Landscaping around the building was configured to optimize daylighting inside, as well as to provide shaded gardens and water features that enhance the hospitality ambiance. Garden spaces provide an escape from the stresses of being in a hospital. What best defines this facility is the seamless integration of natural themes with advanced technology and cost-effective infrastructure systems.
The site however created design challenges with contours which drop over 80 feet on an 8.6-acre hillside site – particularly since a facility of this size would normally require 25 acres. The building massing takes advantage of this slope by providing separate access points on different levels for the main entry, emergency center, outpatient surgery, service dock and staff entry, creating intuitive wayfinding for the facility. Each of the lower levels has access to landscaped courtyards and views to a man-made water feature that abuts the site.
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Lakeway provides a full continuum of both inpatient and outpatient services including cardiology, obstetrics, oncology, and orthopedics, as well as a full array of diagnostic and treatment services, such as an emergency department/urgent care clinic planned for up to 40,000 visits per year.
