Kaiser Permanente North Baltimore Hub

Gresham Smith

People: The site is wedged between Interstate-83, a commuter rail line to downtown, and the Maryland State Fairgrounds bus stop. The medical center design speaks to the needs of each of these unique flows of vehicles and people and choreographs their experience, whether people are gathering and lingering at the site or just passing through.

Placemaking: The exterior design grapples with multiple identities: of the young, tech-oriented and transient community of Towson, and historic post-industrial Baltimore, by embracing both. The facility aspires to become a new “front door” to the neighborhood by welcoming visitors and public transit commuters with murals, sculptures, and artwork.

Performance: KP North Baltimore will receive LEED Gold Certification. Sustainable design features include a 40,000 SF photovoltaic array above the top floor of the garage which generates clean energy, vertical fins to mitigate the western solar exposure of the clinic waiting rooms, and a green roof which filters storm water and provides a positive distraction for patients in the oncology center.

Planning: The primary planning goal for the project was to create a clear, simple, and efficient organization, with public spaces that enhance member experience by maximizing daylight and views. A communicating stair between waiting areas promotes physical activity. On-stage and Off-stage areas separate the patient circulation from the staff’s, providing a quiet, calming experience.

Prefabrication: The hospital is constructed of prefabricated and/or modular components to the greatest extent possible for higher quality and quicker assembly. The prefab steel structure serves a chassis onto which modular façade panels, unitized curtainwall, demountable interior walls, modular casework, and a prefabricated energy plant were installed.