Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower

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IU Health

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Indianapolis, Indiana

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190,000 SF

An elegant waiting area at Riley Hospital for Children's Maternity Tower features four plum-colored armchairs with purple accent pillows arranged around a white oval coffee table in an intimate seating alcove. The sophisticated space is enhanced by dramatic geometric wood paneling on both side walls, a striking linear ceiling design with integrated lighting, and decorative circular wall art, all set on polished stone flooring that creates a calming and upscale environment for expectant families.

This image shows a modern hospital interior at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower featuring two distinctive turquoise-colored pod-style seating alcoves built into the wall. One pod contains a child lying down, while the other has a child sitting and reading. The space has a contemporary design with neutral beige and gray tones, polished concrete floors, and a colorful geometric art installation on the left wall featuring red, teal, and navy rectangular panels. The area includes recessed lighting in the drop ceiling and appears to be a comfortable waiting or quiet space designed for families and patients.

This image shows a modern cafeteria or dining area at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower with a contemporary design featuring various seating arrangements. The space includes round and rectangular tables with teal and gray chairs, accommodating both small groups and individuals. A striking large-scale botanical wall graphic depicting purple artichokes serves as an artistic focal point on the left wall. The dining area has an open layout with geometric ceiling details, large windows providing natural light and views of greenery outside, and a teal accent wall with framed artwork. The space is designed to create a comfortable, restaurant-like atmosphere for patients, families, and hospital staff to dine and socialize.

This image shows a modern nurses' station at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower featuring a curved design with a distinctive wood-toned ceiling element that follows the station's contours. The workspace includes a long white countertop with computer workstations where staff members are seated, complemented by light wood cabinetry and burgundy accent walls as seen in patient rooms. Two healthcare workers in blue scrubs are visible - one seated at the workstation and another standing nearby. The space features contemporary finishes including wood-look flooring, and the corridor walls display framed artwork including images of purple cherry blossoms, creating a welcoming and professional healthcare environment.

This image shows a modern patient room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower featuring a hospital bed with gray bedding positioned near a window. The room has a sophisticated design with herringbone wood-look flooring and a striking large-scale floral artwork depicting pink blossoms that serves as a focal point on one wall. A burgundy accent wall complements pink seating furniture including a sofa and chair, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The space includes built-in white cabinetry for storage, medical outlets on the wall, and is designed to provide comfort for patients and their families while maintaining necessary medical functionality.

This image shows a modern maternity room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower where a healthcare provider in blue scrubs is caring for a newborn in a hospital bassinet. The room features a contemporary design with white cabinetry, herringbone wood-look flooring, and large windows overlooking greenery. A light blue sofa with decorative pillows provides seating for family members, while purple floral artwork on the wall adds color to the space. The room includes medical equipment, built-in storage, and is designed to create a comfortable, home-like environment for new mothers and their babies during their hospital stay.

A healthcare professional in blue scrubs moves through a modern patient room at Riley Hospital for Children's Maternity Tower, featuring a purple-cushioned medical bed positioned beneath a large nature-themed wall mural of flowering branches. The room includes wood-look flooring, medical outlets and equipment mounted on the wall, a sink area with wood cabinetry, and an accessible bathroom, all designed to create a calming healing environment for maternity patients and their families.

This image shows a modern labor and delivery room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower where a healthcare provider in blue scrubs is working at a computer station. The room features a hospital bed positioned near large windows with views of greenery, creating a calming natural environment. A blue sofa provides comfortable seating for family members, while medical equipment including monitors and a newborn care station are seamlessly integrated into the space. The room displays large-scale floral artwork featuring white blossoms on a green background, contributing to a soothing, home-like atmosphere. White cabinetry and modern finishes throughout the room combine medical functionality with patient comfort during the birthing process.

This image shows a modern labor and delivery room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower designed for medical procedures and patient comfort. The room features a hospital bed with overhead surgical lighting and medical gas outlets mounted on the wall, while a healthcare provider in blue scrubs tends to a newborn in a mobile bassinet. The space includes a comfortable blue sofa and chair positioned near large windows that provide natural light and views of greenery outside. The room has a clean, clinical design with white and soft green color schemes, specialized medical equipment integrated into the ceiling and walls, and marble-patterned accent panels that create a calming yet fully functional environment for childbirth and immediate newborn care.

This image shows a modern, well-appointed maternity room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower. The spacious room features a hospital bed with white linens and gray accents, positioned near a large window overlooking lush green trees. The room includes comfortable seating with two beige armchairs and a small side table, along with built-in white cabinetry, a wall-mounted television, and wood-look flooring. The clean, contemporary design incorporates calming neutral tones with white walls, marble-pattern wall panels, and a colorful abstract artwork, creating a home-like atmosphere for new families while maintaining the functionality of a medical facility.

This image shows the electrical switchgear room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower, featuring a row of large gray electrical distribution panels and control equipment. The room contains multiple electrical switchgear cabinets with various meters, switches, and control interfaces that manage the hospital's power distribution systems. An extensive network of conduits, pipes, and ductwork runs along the exposed ceiling, typical of a hospital's critical infrastructure areas. The space has concrete flooring with proper electrical grounding and safety measures, and includes emergency lighting systems. This electrical room is essential for providing reliable power distribution throughout the hospital facility, ensuring continuous operation of medical equipment and building systems vital to patient care.

This image shows the mechanical equipment room at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower, featuring large industrial HVAC units and building systems infrastructure. The space contains multiple gray metal air handling units with circular inspection ports, surrounded by an extensive network of ductwork, piping, and conduits running along the ceiling. Green-colored pipes, white insulated ducts, and various colored utility lines create a complex mechanical systems layout typical of a modern hospital's building services area. The room has concrete flooring and support columns, with clear pathways for maintenance access around the equipment. This behind-the-scenes mechanical space is essential for providing climate control, ventilation, and other building systems that support the hospital's patient care areas.

The new Riley Children’s Health Maternity Tower centralizes all inpatient childbirth and newborn care offered at three Indiana University Health hospitals in downtown Indianapolis. Riley now houses the largest number of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds in Indiana and is among the largest in the country.

Families who had previously visited the Riley Hospital for Children facility might not recognize the healthcare provider’s newly renovated tower, the “phase three” building of a five-phase campus, to expand and modernize health services for mothers and their newborn babies.

When visitors enter the first-floor lobby, they are surrounded by bright, naturally lit and modernized spaces, public and more private waiting areas, open spaces, and a grand view of the original front façade of Riley Hospital for Children that adorns the west wall of the atrium. Two round, all-glass elevators greet visitors, inviting them to see all the way up the building.

In addition, the infrastructure at Riley was that of an aged, 40-year-old building. Updating the atrium meant bringing it up to code in all aspects which meant the addition of a complex smoke evacuation system for 202,800 cubic feet per minute (CFM) that was designed to meet the requirements without sacrificing the grand feel of the space. The engineers were able to design the exhaust and its 165,000 CFM of make-up air required to be installed in a way that did not make major design impacts in the artfully designed space.

Designing a comprehensive, cohesive medical tower that meets the needs of staff, their patients, and families for years to come in the heart of downtown Indianapolis was BSA’s mission, all as the campus continued operating 24/7. The new Tower achieves Indiana University Health’s goal of improving the health of its patients and community through innovation and excellence in care, education, research, and service.

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Disciplines

Architecture, Engineering, Interior Design, Planning

Awards

2022 – Monumental Awards: Merit Award in Engineering; 2023 – International Interior Design Association, Indiana Chapter, Interior Design Excellence Awards: Healthcare; 2023 – Monumental Awards: Finalist in Interior Design

Project Contact

Jane Everett

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Maternity Tower

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