BOSTON and HACKENSACK, N.J., Aug. 10 J/Brice Design International, one of the world's top hospitality design firms, has been named to design the new $150 million facility at Hackensack University Medical Center - The John Theurer Cancer Center, America's 4th largest center dedicated to diagnosis, treatment, management, research, and preventive care of patients with all types of cancer.
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The new center will be a vast improvement over the University's existing building, which is 40% too small to accommodate some 500 - 600 patient visits per day. The new center (http://humccancer.org/) will occupy approximately two city blocks, according to Jeffrey Ornstein, founder and CEO of J/Brice Design International, Inc., headquartered in Boston.
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In making the announcement, Dr. Andre Goy, Deputy Director, explained the selection of a leading international hospitality design firm whose 20 years of credits include five star hotels in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dubai, Qatar and Mumbai. "Jeffrey has established a worldwide reputation for designing places where people look forward to staying. We wanted patients and their families who enter the Center to feel the same ambiance as a five-star hotel or resort when they arrive here. The Center has to be both welcoming and useful. In oncology, there can be a lot of delay because things don't always go as predicted. So we are creating a place where patients can continue to run their lives in much the same way as they would at a 21st century hotel or resort. J/Brice clearly demonstrates leadership in branding identity, creating stylish and distinctive interiors that speak to the public on a very intimate level."
Dr. Goy adds, "Hospital architecture has been badly neglected. Medical clinics are boring and not patient friendly. Most hospitals look like high schools. Our existing building looks like a graveyard with tombstone gray terrazzo floors and walls painted beige and brown - everything is muddy and unappealing."
Key elements of the new architecture reinforce the rejuvenation and healing process philosophy sought for the building's identity. These include a sun-drenched, six-story lobby atrium with a living wall and waterfall. Explains Ornstein (http://www.jbricedesign.com/), "The heartbeat of the design is our 30-by-60-foot tall Living Wall, pioneered by Parisian artists. The flora is suspended in a self irrigating, soil-free mesh, where plantings grow, blossom and change with the seasons, displaying a natural tapestry of varying color and texture."
Ornstein lectures internationally on his guest-centric interior design philosophy before leaders in commercial real estate development and the hospitality industry. He adds, "The atrium lobby's 30-foot waterfall features river rock and terrazzo with mother-of-pearl accents. A 'flock' of 200 Murano glass birds, each hand-blown in the colors of the cancer center logo - cobalt, teal and lime - will appear to soar through the open space, and be a visible icon of the lobby from the exterior upon approach."
Color is being employed for its friendly and soothing ability, as well as for easy identification of departments to help patients navigate the space. "Patients can be under a lot of stress when they arrive, and the easier it is to understand the building, the more at ease they become," says Dr. Goy, adding, "I also didn't want patients to feel they are going to the 'colon section' or the 'breast cancer section.' I want them to, instead, be guided to their destinations by color - amber, pink, sky blue, lavender and other soothing colors J/Brice incorporated throughout the interior space."
Says Ornstein, "Instead of having a library that no one would use, we are creating a cyber center where you can link your laptop to the Internet to take care of personal and work-related projects. Patients will also have access to a gym, a health focused cafeteria, and retail store, demo kitchen where patients and their families can take cooking lessons, and several huge terraces with walking gardens."
In terms of patient care, the new center will include a walk-in emergency clinic equipped and staffed specifically for oncology patients, and the chemotherapy area will offer TV, Wi-Fi and other amenities.
Funding for the John Theurer Cancer Center is through the generosity of his widow Helena Theurer who was a major contributor for the new facility.
The John Theurer Cancer Center
Each year, more people in the New Jersey-New York metropolitan area turn to the John Theurer Cancer Center for cancer care than to any other facility in New Jersey. The current facility, housed within a 775-bed not-for-profit teaching, tertiary care, and research hospital, offers state-of-the-art technology, compassionate care, research innovations, medical expertise, and a full range of after care services that distinguish the John Theurer Cancer Center from other facilities.
J/Brice Design International, Inc.
Founded in 1989 by leading hospitality design authority, Jeffrey Ornstein, J/Brice Design International is a global interior design firm. In 2009, J/Brice ranked as one of the top ten design firms in New York/New England region and has twice been cited as one of the ten fastest growing design firms in the US - once in 2000 and once in 2008 by Interior Design Magazine. Brice has won awards in every major category of Hotel Design, including Best Upscale Design of The year, Renovation of the Year, Most Ambient Hotel Lobby, and Best Luxury Suite. Its award winning staff has worked on over 200 hotel and restaurant projects, in addition to boasting a diverse portfolio of corporate and residential interiors. Its international experience lends great diversity to its design perspective and implementation with respect to regional, cultural, operational and brand parameters.
J/Brice is the preferred design group for Hilton Hotels: All Full Service Hilton, Doubletree Hotel / Guest Suites, and Hampton Inn properties, Marriott International: All Full service Properties, Renaissance, and Courtyard properties, Starwood: All Full Service Sheraton, Westin, and 4-Points properties, Intercontinental Hotel Group: All full service Intercontinental Hotels, Crown Plaza, and Wyndham Properties, Trump International Beach Resorts, Best Western and Holiday Inns Worldwide. International credentials include work for TAJ Hotels in India and Dubai, The Al Thani Family in Qatar, and The Al Othman Holding Company in KSA.
The firm's recent signature engagements include the fabled HMS Queen Mary - the 1934 luxury ocean liner, and The Helmsley Hotel - an urban landmark in New York City.
Contact:
Dick Pirozzolo
781-235-9911 or 617-959-4613
[email protected]
SOURCE J/Brice Design International
