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Michael Graves: Architect and Innovator
The following article from Healthcare Design Magazine is a feature on Michael Graves, an innovator in healthcare design who passed away in March at the age of 80. To read the article and view the entire gallery, click here.
“Postmodernist architect Michael Graves became a household name thanks to his popular line of consumer products for Target, but it was his mission to revolutionize the way that homes, office buildings, and—specifically—healthcare facilities are built that left an indelible mark on the world of architecture in general and accessible design especially.
Graves died in March at the age of 80, after spending more than a decade paralyzed after a complication caused by a virus. It was that event that catapulted an already established goal to bring a more humanistic approach to architecture and urban planning and inspired designs that answer the challenges of individuals with disabilities.
Graves and his firm, Michael Graves Architecture & Design (MGA&D; Princeton, N.J.), have since launched numerous pursuits to improve the built environment and make spaces, particularly in healthcare, more easily navigable for all. From a line of patient room furniture to a rehabilitation center, Graves used his own physical limitations to learn, expose, and solve the shortcomings of traditional design responses.
To honor Graves, MGA&D will continue to advocate for the creation of intuitive, non-stigmatizing environments and products, with the goal to raise awareness within the real estate, design, and construction communities of the importance of incorporating universal design elements, minus the institutional aesthetic.
In the image gallery on this page, Healthcare Design offers a look at Graves’ portfolio of universal design projects in healthcare spaces, which he leaves behind to serve as inspiration for us all.”
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Omaha, Neb. Resident rooms are large enough to accommodate not only wheelchair accessibility that complies with the ADA but also larger wheeled mobility machines that need a more generous turning radius. The project is expected to be completed in 2016. Credit: Michael Graves Architecture & Design.
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Omaha, Neb. Interiors, including the rehabilitation gym, are flooded with natural light and feature a calming décor with warm wood tones and spring-like colors. Credit: Michael Graves Architecture & Design.
Skilled nursing facility prototype, Mainstreet Capital Development. The plan also creates a town square, which facilitates community interaction and creates lounges and casual gathering areas throughout the resident wings. Credit: Michael Graves Architecture & Design.
Skilled nursing facility prototype, Mainstreet Capital Development. Based on the extremely tight economics within the industry, the design focused on maximizing efficiencies in the core and shell architecture, with a goal to reallocate budgets toward design details that improve experiences for residents and caregivers. One example is the reorientation of the building plan to allow for square footage to be added to resident rooms. Credit: Michael Graves Architecture & Design.
Source: Healthcare Design Magazine
