Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital was built as the first of its kind – a facility designed to eliminate barriers. Though the aim of the hospital is expectantly to heal its patients, it does so in an unprecedently high-tech fashion, tying the act of healing with the reinstatement of power, enabling patients to make their own decisions based on movement-based feedback.

Situated on the harbor in Boston’s historic Charlestown neighborhood, the building was designed to take in surrounding views embracing its position in the city and on the water. The ability of its patients to immerse themselves in the broader landscape and have unrestrained sight lines from the prominent site was seen as therapeutic, a way to empower patients by granting them views of the outdoors no matter where they are in the facility. The landscape thus needed to bring nature up to the facility while thoughtfully framing the views outward to create more human-centric spaces at the building’s edges.

Included in this approach was the addition of two roof gardens of respite, of which Hoerr Schaudt worked closely with clinicians, administration, and architect Perkins+Will to create.

On the third floor, adjacent to the out-patient gym and patient rooms, a four-season garden invites recovering patients to engage with a natural environment. The terrace encourages interactivity, with areas for patients to plant and care for the garden, and a space for respite. One level up, a staff lounge extends outdoors to a terrace with movable seating and a wide planter featuring seasonal color.