In addition to replacing the current hospital, the new hospital provides an environment to practice, teach, learn, heal and ultimately improve the quality of life of those it serves.
CSO’s success in leading large, complex projects positioned the firm as an ideal partner when IU Health sought a firm to take on management of the overall design team for completion of the hospital and clinic. The complexity of the project, along with having numerous firms involved, presented an opportunity and challenge. CSO’s past experience enabled the firm to quickly engage and provide management services on behalf of the Health System. In addition to providing overall project management, the CSO team worked closely with the project partners to oversee and progress design concepts and strategies. A collaborative culture where team members contributed equally, and frequently, was put in place on day one. This simple strategy positioned the designers around the table with the users groups to ensure quantitative and qualitative information gathering, resulting in informed design decisions.
The result of a collaborative process with IU Health, project partners, and CSO, the new IU Health Bloomington Hospital provides a patient, family, physician and employee experience that is welcoming, intuitive, and serene. Details such as the integration of local art, which connects the facility with its surroundings, underscores IU Health’s commitment to cultivating a culture of community pride while enhancing the emotional wellbeing of those served by the facility. Healthcare services provided by the facility include office visits, diagnostic testing, inpatient services, a Women’s Center, outpatient care, a trauma center, and an emergency department.
CSO’s Interior Design Studio partnered with Barnes & Thornburg, LLP to renovate an under-utilized asset at their national headquarters in downtown Indianapolis. Originally built in 1903 as a bank, their office at 11 S. Meridian Street still houses the original vault room in the lower level.
As is often the case, the client had ongoing relationships with other designers. However, they sought out CSO’s expertise when the other firms’ ideas for the space did not align with the client’s vision. CSO worked closely with the client to design the space, utilizing hand-drawn sketches and 3D renderings to align the client’s vision with designers’ interpretation.
The original space was comprised of multiple vaults, of varying sizes, within a larger secure area. Measuring at just 3,249 square feet, the space was going to need to maximize flexibility and style if it was going to satisfy the program. To accommodate the client’s goals for utilizing the space, the team also devised two furniture setups: lounge seating to support cocktail events or more casual gatherings, and a conference layout to support board meetings and other formal meetings. Each setup needed to look and function as if it was permanent so great care was taken to select pieces that looked substantial but could be easily moved.
Designers drew inspiration for detailing such as the scalloped frieze and oculus featured at the top of the walls from existing architecture in the client’s office and on the historic building. The primary, elaborate vault door was fully restored to become a focal point. When it was determined that one of the other vault doors needed to be removed it was deconstructed, with a portion of it becoming a feature inset into the floor. At either end of the newly created primary gathering space, bookcases are anchored with green safe deposit boxes which were intentionally preserved in their unrestored state, adding character to the design and embracing the vault’s storied journey.
As a subtle reference to height markers often seen in mugshots, the design team added a quirky tick mark detail set into the trim that frames each set of doors. Above each of the tick-mark details is a quatrefoil with a key-hole detail, personalizing the classic detailing to this unique project.
The result of the collaboration with the client is a uniquely branded space that is highly flexible. In a space that could easily have felt confined, designers achieved a warm elegance worthy of admiration by the client and visitors alike.