The three Mother Baby Centers in Minnesota were born of a partnership between Children’s Minnesota and Allina Health, integrating healthcare for both mother and child. They opened at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis in 2013, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids in 2015 and United Hospital in St. Paul in 2016. HDR in Minneapolis specializes in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services, and was tasked with creating a brand identity for the centers that embodied their motto: “Great place to have a baby. Great place to be a baby.”
“We wanted to create a brand that was consistent, yet relevant to the environmental context of each of the three hospital settings,” said Julie Robertson, HDR senior interior designer, at a NeoCon seminar. The design process involved multi-day charettes with staff and physicians, 3D simulation models and full-scale mock-up rooms.
Because HDR was shaping the brand identity as the centers were being built, they were able to incorporate graphics into the Mother-Baby Centers from the beginning. They used color, super graphics and structural elements as forms of brand expression, while also providing wayfinding throughout the facility.
With a distinctive theme used throughout the interior, expectant mothers and their families are welcomed at the first floor reception area by artwork that is alive and bursting with color, just like the new lives being bought into the world from within its doors.
