The 452,000-square-foot Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice is one of the first expansions for the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Care System (SMHCS). It’s part of the system’s strategy to deliver advanced medical and emergency services to residents of the rapidly growing community south of Sarasota, Fla.

Completed in November 2021, the greenfield hospital in Venice, Fla., was submitted to the Design Showcase by Flad Architects (Tampa, Fla., and Madison, Wis.).

The project includes 110 private medical/surgical patient rooms, a 22-bed intensive care unit, women’s health services, and a surgical center. A new two-story medical office building connects to the facility, as well.

Inspired by the health system’s established brand style that reflects the region’s postwar modern architecture, the facility comprises a clean architectural style with crisp white walls that frame generous windows.

To ease navigation and provide a connection to the outdoors, the hospital is organized around a central entry courtyard with public circulation and waiting spaces located along high-performance exterior glass walls that face the landscaped area. Inside, nature-inspired graphics denote key entry and departmental areas.

Anne DiNardo is executive editor of Healthcare Design. She can be reached at [email protected].

Learn more about the Design Showcase winners during an awards luncheon at the 2022 HCD Conference + Expo, taking place Oct. 8-11, in San Antonio. The program will also honor the winners of Healthcare Design’s Remodel/Renovation Competition and Rising Stars programs. For more details and to register, visit HCDexpo.com.