Children's National Hospital Vertical Transportation and Entryway Experience

Starting Point, A Fresh Arrival Sequence

Children’s National Hospital is ranked the #5 pediatric hospital nationally, serving the nation’s children and their families for over 150 years. Patients, families, and staff travel into the heart of Washington D.C. to visit the hospital, often from outside the metro area. The tight urban site, and busy adjacent streets do not allow for a typical arrival canopy with a drop-off at the main entry to Children’s National Hospital (CNH).

One of the most challenging aspects of CNH’s physical location is the entry sequence to the hospital. The “front door” is located underneath the building through a structured parking garage, space is tight and dimly lit. The wayfinding is confusing and pedestrians must cross several lanes of traffic to get to the entrance. Within the garage there was a series of inclined moving walkways that lead up to the main atrium of the hospital. CNH experienced a serious water intrusion event that damaged the moving walkways. The hospital leadership no longer wanted to maintain this antiquated equipment and chose to develop a three-bank elevator design with a grand stairway to connect the floors.

To better understand the full patient journey, Our Research Collaborative facilitated a multi-method research approach for a new entryway. Using a robust set of research tools, our team observed and produced drawings of the staff, patients, and their families as they entered and initially found their way. Additionally, we conducted a survey about their experiences to inform the design. The process unearthed the various areas along the journey that needed to be addressed and improved. We discovered the challenges of the entryway and applied design decisions to enable clarity and safety for many entering the facility. This data dramatically shaped the solution in a very meaningful way. Based on the observations, it became evident that the solution had to address several conflicting traffic flows for both vehicles and pedestrians.

There was a strong need to separate vehicular traffic flows into 5 separate paths or flows: Public and staff long term parking entering the garage, the shuttle bus (3-4 at one time), the professional driver (Uber, Lyft, or Taxi), the “Kiss and Ride” lane, and the valet lane. Previously all flows were mixed. Which added to congestion, confusion, and was a safety issue for pedestrians crossing multiple traffic flows. There was also a limited number of ADA accessible parking for transport vans that are used by many family members of the chronically ill patients that frequent CNH often. We designating an area with the required height and area clearances by modifying the ceiling systems and expanding the accessible parking area. The pedestrian circulation was modified to create a separate entrances for patients / families and staff. Three new elevators where added to better connect the three levels for the public and patient use. The existing elevators are being designated for staff only. The design includes a grand staircase from the main drop off area up to the main level atrium space.

The result is a design full of light, creating a streamlined vehicular entry with easy-to-follow wayfinding and a clearly articulated safe destination. The new two-story entry provides an opportunity for patients, families, and staff to decompress from the journey to the hospital and transition to the journey ahead.