Located on a beautiful 55-acre site, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus is the first community children’s hospital to be built in the greater Houston area and is one of the largest suburban pediatric hospitals in the country. The 492,000-square-foot, five-story facility includes 48 inpatient beds (with space for an additional 48 beds), four operating rooms, a 14-bed pediatric emergency center, and a 220,000-square-foot outpatient clinic wing. The site was carefully master planned to accommodate long-term growth, with the central organizing element on this large site a grand ellipse, carefully set on axis with the high traffic corner of the site to simplify wayfinding and visibility of the entrance. The front two wings are curved along the ellipse, forming “welcoming arms” to greet patients and family. The third wing, which contains the inpatient rooms, extends into the quiet corner of the site, with views of the trees, pond and fountains.

The facility incorporates interior and exterior evidence-based design elements that promote healing such as natural light, views of water and nature, child life play areas, and outdoor park-like settings for patient and family use. Emblematic colors were chosen to be playful without being juvenile. Each wing is marked by a base color at entrances and interior portals for orientation, while each floor deploys a secondary color visible in elevator lobbies and common areas. A third color highlights nodes of interaction in each space. Active spaces in lobbies and outpatient wings receive vibrant colors, while softer palettes in the inpatient wing create a calming environment. In the glass entry tower, large spheres float like balloons and house functions, such as the demonstration operating room, while another connects the Emergency Center to the central space.