A Community Destination for Health

For more than a century, the Henry Ford Hospital campus has provided critical care and support for the Detroit community. This vast modernization and expansion of the campus are poised to create a destination for health and well-being with a far-sighted goal to revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods and support their people by generating economic investment and growth.

The hospital expansion plan is part of a broader development vision in the New Center neighborhood where the organization began more than a century ago. Henry Ford Health’s team, patients, neighbors and the greater community’s needs are at the heart of this plan, and those important stakeholders have been engaged every step of the way.

A Good Neighbor

At the center of the campus’ aim to sustain the community through design is Henry Square, a new civic asset that combines public art, fitness and health education programming while physically and symbolically connecting the new hospital to its rich history. 

The design team engaged community members from seven surrounding neighborhoods in an open dialogue to inform the design process. This feedback was crucial in ensuring the project is meaningful and esteemed by the community it serves. 

The lower level of the new hospital spans the site and reinforces the human scale to connect with the neighborhood and expresses a familiar vernacular with brick. The tower above responds to Detroit’s skyline. Clad in glass with artfully arranged Corten steel fins, the tower recognizes Detroit’s industrial roots while expressing the promise of world-class care and a better future.

High-Tech with A Human Touch

The new hospital at Destination: Grand will connect to both the original hospital and an adjacent cancer center. It will be home to multiple shared research efforts in partnership with Michigan State University Health Sciences. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab has also partnered to bring state-of-the-art inpatient rehabilitation space and services to the academic health center. 

Key design features include:

• A focus on design that inspires innovation and discovery while serving the community.
• All private patient rooms equipped with the most modern technology for advance and seamless care.
• Integration of autonomous mobile robots into the care for the patient.
• Modernized acute and intensive care units with technically advanced operating suites.
• A place of comfort and convenience for patients, families and caregivers.

Collaborating with HDR are Hamilton Anderson, a Detroit-based African American-owned architecture and landscape architecture practice, and Boston-based Tsoi Kobus Design. The team of national construction management leaders, “BTD,” includes Barton Malow and Turner Construction and local leader Dixon Construction Services.