Thoughtful Design

Even without venturing into the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, it's clear that a lot of thought went into its design.  Built alongside Capital Health's Walter C. Mackenzie Centre on the University of Alberta campus, the new Heart Institute is a place where science and medicine converge.

But more importantly, it's a place of hope and healing, where patients, staff and visitors could feel peaceful and well. Accordingly, the Heart Institute was designed around a theme of wellness.

Inside, every single patient room has a great view—either of the broad Edmonton skyscape, a garden rooftop, or a lush indoor healing garden that spans two storeys. 

Elsewhere, rooms are designed so that Heart Institute staff can work comfortably and efficiently. Surgical trays are suspended on ceiling booms to facilitate easy movement in the operating room—and to spare housekeeping staff the discomfort of stooping to scrub floors. Strategically-placed corridors and elevator will ensure patients can be swiftly transported to and from operating or emergency rooms, out of sight of worried family members. The wide, windowed stairwell invites able-bodied people to get some exercise, rather than take the elevator.

The brand new building flows contiguously under the same roof as the existing University of Alberta Hospital and Stollery Children's Hospital.  This sensible design means pediatric patients or heart patients or patients with other health problems won't have to be transferred to another hospital to see a specialist.  It's one of the features that makes the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute different from other standalone heart institutes.

Another distinguishing feature is the towering curtain wall of glass that curves around the Heart Institute's south wall.  The 3-inch thick glass will maintain heat and humidity and flood patient rooms with soul-restoring light.  The giant windows are a fitting symbol of what the heart institute is all about—wellness and illumination—shedding light, if you will, on the mystery of heart disease.