Healing at play

Photo by Miami in Focus Inc.

Facility : Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Location : Hollywood, Fla.
Architect : Stanley Beaman & Sears

Believing that a hospital should look alive and inspire hope, the architects' conceptual theme for the newest building at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, Fla., was "The Power of Play."

The design recognizes Joe DiMaggio, the legendary Hall of Fame baseball player and institution's namesake, and acknowledges the benefits of play in healing.

The slogan itself is etched into the terrazzo floor in the entry. Inside, the building's glassy four-story atrium suggests fluidity and motion. Vivid colors, bold patterns and dynamic imagery reinforce a sense of animation and spontaneity.

Each of the four floors has a specific motif: sports, arts, games or dreams with a dominant color and related graphic pattern.

The signature colors of each floor reappear outside as lighted accent panels on driveway bollards and in translucent images of children at play on the two-story glass facade of the lobby area. The wall's arc represents a baseball player's swing, another nod to Joltin' Joe.

To submit a Last Detail case for consideration, contact Jeff Ferenc at jferenc@healthforum.com