In 2019, M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, Minn., began planning an expansion of its Edina healthcare campus. The project would add 52 private patient rooms.

In its design for the addition, Perkins&Will (Minneapolis) bridged the design language of two earlier buildings on campus. Those are an eight-story bed tower built in 1964 and a two-story emergency department (ED) added in 2015. The addition was constructed atop that ED.

The resulting design maintains the elegant curvature of the two original campus buildings while updating the look of the original bed tower.

Exterior, white fiber cement boards and large, recessed ribbon windows echo the materiality of the existing buildings. Large windows in public corridors and patient rooms bathe the interior spaces with light and offer treetop-level views to the outdoors.

Redesigned nursing areas create modular areas for nurses to remain close to patients and feature direct sight lines into patient rooms. Flexible, adaptable areas for patient care ensure the hospital is equipped to respond as community health needs change.

Project details:

Facility name: M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital – Inpatient Expansion

Location: Edina, Minn.

Completion date: September 2021

Owner: M Health Fairview

Total building area: 53,620 sq. ft.

Total construction cost: $28.5 million

Cost/sq. ft.: $532/sq. ft.

Architecture firm: Perkins&Will

Interior design: Perkins&Will

General contractor: JE Dunn

Engineering: Graef (structural), Dunham (MEP)

Builder: JE Dunn