Cleveland Clinic Lozick Cancer Pavilion

Perspectus, in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Buildings + Design, designed the Lozick Cancer Pavilion at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital, a 10,000 square-foot, three-story addition designed with a focus on enhancing the patient experience. The pavilion features intuitive and comforting spaces, incorporating elements such as daylighting, views of nature, and biophilic design.

This project unifies the disparate elements of cancer care at Hillcrest, creating a comprehensive cancer center with a dedicated entrance. Previously, cancer patients had to use the main hospital entrance on the north side of the building, facing a long walk to their destination. The first-floor addition now serves as the main entrance, establishing a central patient check-in, dedicated valet parking, and convenient patient drop-off. It also creates a direct connection between the building’s lower level and the second-floor spaces.

Patients arriving for radiation therapy services use one of two new elevators to reach the lower-level addition, where a newly created waiting area and renovated exam rooms await them. Patients seeking medical oncology, infusion, phlebotomy, or patient support services head up to the second-floor addition and renovated exam spaces.

Understanding the healing power of nature, the pavilion ensures that the trees to the south are omnipresent. Their tops are visible through the skylight, the south infusion bays look directly out to them, and the east and west bays are organized so that patient chairs face them. The art and music therapy rooms also use the trees as a focal point.

The project is transformative for patient care and experience. Infusion spaces are arranged around a central courtyard with amenities for patients and families, creating a gathering place for those seeking community. Furniture and millwork selection focused on the use of natural materials such as wood with an emphasison a residential feel to increase patient comfort. The skylight overhead allows daylight to pour into the space, even reaching the first-floor lobby through a two-story cutout. The new infusion spaces provide patients with privacy and dignity during treatment.

Designed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team had limited access to the existing cancer spaces for investigation and fieldwork. Price and lead time fluctuations influenced project decisions. The first-floor addition is directly in front of the hospital’s ICU, so design details and construction activities were thoroughly reviewed to minimize disruption to operations. A phased in-place strategy was developed and successfully implemented during construction to allow for continuous cancer care operations.