St. Petersburg Medical Center

Located in a dense pine forest within the ‘Forest Green Belt’ surrounding the second-largest city in Russia, the St. Petersburg Medical Center draws inspiration from its natural context.

The medical center integrates a central hospital, two specialty hospitals, a hotel, a training center, a religious facility, and an administrative office building arranged around a central campus green. Drop-offs for each building provide separate points of entry and identity for each building. In contrast, a 1,500-foot-long arced public concourse links all campus buildings, providing the desired weather-protected campus connections and an enhanced sense of community. Iconic building forms merge with organically shaped canopies, defining internal and external garden space. The project reflects a biophilic design, providing a unique patient care experience that allows expansive views and connections to nature and maximizes opportunities for natural daylighting.

Inspired by St. Petersburg’s historic parks and open spaces, the master plan and concept design follow a strong central axis. However, to honor the genius loci of the site’s surrounding dense woodland, the solar exposure-centric design breaks the symmetry of the landscape into areas with varied programs. One courtyard is used as a cutting garden for patients and families at the hospital. Another is a productive landscape and performance space. The site plan reflects local bold artistic patterns and materiality guided by circulation and access to sunshine.

The vision plan also introduces a new bus stop and pedestrian-vehicular separated circulation. Without sacrificing the functional needs of the site’s programs, the plan adds 1,000 underground parking spots and a pedestrian-friendly environment enhanced by nature.

To protect and preserve the site’s existing natural environment, this vision plan intends to keep 1/3 of existing birch trees and ensures 2/3 of the total area is preserved. St. Petersburg Medical Center’s vision plan integrates sustainable biophilic strategies to blur the boundary between interior and exterior, nature and landscape, human function, and natural processes.