The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital, USA

The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital is like no other in Oklahoma. The 160-bed hospital fills a special role caring for and rehabilitating children with traumatic injuries and long-term medical conditions. For patients and families, the nonprofit hospital is home for weeks or months, making it crucial that the recently expanded facility feels less like a hospital and more like a residence.

To increase the number of families it can serve, the hospital expanded its Bethany, Oklahoma campus to include additional patient beds and rooms, meeting spaces and consolidated services. The vision from the onset was a comforting facility designed to make patients and parents feel safe during one of the most tumultuous times of their lives.

Hospital administrators, Tulsa-based KKT Architects and KI worked in unison to blend essential medical services and needs with a residential-inspired feel. Close attention was paid to colors, textures, patterns, furnishings and artwork that minimized intimidating medical equipment and offered a comforting aesthetic.

Daylight and welcoming colors – pink, blue, green and orange – bring the building to life. The soft lines and colorful upholsteries of the furniture work in conjunction with the overall design to create child-friendly

Curvilinear lounge seating establishes an immediate sense of approachability in the main lobby. Arranged in semi-circles and shallow s-curves, the seating produces a sense of warmth and movement in the main lobby and a second floor waiting area.

Furniture with larger sitting surfaces were chosen to allow children to stay close to their parents.