Boston Children’s Hospital
LOCATION
Boston, MA
CLIENT
Boston’s Children’s Hospital
Architect
Shepley Bullfinch
FABRICATORS
Dillon Works
InPro
AWARDS
2023 Communication Arts Interactive Annual – Environmental
2022 International Design Awards, Silver – Print-Wayfinding & Environmental Graphics
2022 Creative Communications Awards, Best of Best in Other; Exhibition Design
2022 GDUSA American Graphic Design Awards, Best of the Year
2022 GDUSA American Graphic Design Awards, Health & Wellness Design Awards
The project centers around a 3-D pop-up book theme and features interactive, multi-layer automatons under 8-foot arches that set the stage for fun and play.
Intended to distract, surprise and entertain patients without the use of tech and screens, each display uses pandemic-friendly motion sensors and electric motors to make elements—and kids—move.
Carrying forth the Hospital’s eight themed floors of the original clinical building to the new tower, ArtHouse blended authentic Boston iconography, from puffins to harbors to swan boats, with scenes from the metro region recognizable to local and international guests alike. Look for the hidden ocean creature with a hard shell and two large claws, Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond and trail signs pointing to Mount Greylock, the Appalachian Trail and the White Mountains.
With mixed media, from hand-painted and etched wood to acrylic and printed pieces, extra attention needed to be paid to scalability, lighting, blocking, positioning and more.
Working remotely from Denver with partners across the country, ArtHouse oversaw fabrication and installation—all during a pandemic.