Penn Medicine Radnor Connects with Nature

The architecture and landscape design of Penn Medicine Radnor embraces nature, with an eye toward environmental stewardship, reports Anne DiNardo, executive editor of Health Care Design Magazine.  

The ambulatory care center’s façade, designed by Ballinger (Philadelphia), offers patient views and brings in daylight to interior spaces.  

Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects in Wayne incorporated a three-acre native meadow, woodland courtyard, integrated rain gardens, and wet meadows into the design.  

There are views of nature through the façade’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls and windows.   

A circulation corridor around the interior garden helps to orient patients and help with planning walking routes.  

Vehicle travel around the building is limited to allow a large continuous area of native habitat at the site.  

Regional plant species were chosen for the habitat, encouraging pollination, and limiting the need for irrigation. The lush landscape manages 100 percent of rainwater on site. 

A bird-safe bridge, with small dots imprinted on the glass to help birds recognize and avoid the structure, connects the building’s two wings and helps with planning patient routes.  

The space also serves as a naturally lit lounge for patients and staff with sweeping views to nature. 

Read more at Health Care Design Magazine about Penn Medicine’s Radnor campus.