Kent General Pavilion

Dover, DE

As one of the fastest-growing healthcare providers in the region, Bayhealth pursued a facility update deserving of its weight in the community and to strengthen its services. A long overdue campus master plan identified the need for Bayhealth to combine disconnected services and outdated legacy buildings into a new, growth-oriented pavilion designed for 21st century medicine. Bayhealth envisioned using a Planetree hospital model, where design emphasizes patient and staff experience and incorporates forefront technology, while maintaining connection to the local colonial architecture. Alongside the client, EwingCole created a new patient experience sequence that begins with the building exterior of brick, glass, and metal panel, to a new valet drop-off, contemporary lobby, and a dedicated path to medical treatment areas throughout the 391,000 SF facility. The design combines an open and sunlit atmosphere with careful spatial orientation for patients and visitors alike, maintaining a separate path to services for caregivers, and amenities such as focus zones and ample collaboration space to attract medical talent. A cancer center and emergency department serve as a podium for a new bed tower, establishing a new entrance for the entire campus and bridging the once fraught services into one space.