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Sign of the Times
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V Smoothe
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Last Updated on September, 04 2008 at 03:51 PM
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| To rebuild a seismically safe hospital, Kaiser is creating a minor
earthquake in the tight-knit Piedmont Avenue community. On Wednesday,
the Oakland Planning Commission rejected the HMO's design for a new
hospital complex at the intersection of Broadway and MacArthur
Boulevard. The Commission’s decision only partially placated community
members who object to plans for placing a lighted sign on top of the
proposed building. |
An architectural rendering of Broadway and MacArthur Boulevard.
To rebuild a seismically safe hospital, Kaiser Permanente is creating a minor earthquake in the tight-knit Piedmont Avenue community. On Wednesday, the Oakland Planning Commission rejected the HMO's design for a new hospital complex at the intersection of Broadway and MacArthur Boulevard. The Commission’s decision only partially placated community members who object to plans for placing a lighted sign on top of the proposed building.
The first phase of the project, a parking garage and medical service building, is under construction at the northwest corner of Broadway and MacArthur. The second phase will encompass the block between Broadway and Piedmont avenue along MacArthur Boulevard, and will feature a new hospital, a hospital support building, a medical office building, and another parking garage. The planning process for the second phase of the project began last September, with the first of seven community meetings seeking input on the design. State safety requirements demanding that all hospitals be built to remain functioning following a major earthquake are forcing Kaiser to rebuild its 52-year old facility in the Piedmont neighborhood.
After two hearings at the Design Review Committee, Kaiser presented their design proposal for the new hospital for approval by the Planning Commission Wednesday night. Hospital officials presented a 12-story tower atop a four-story base, known in architectural parlance as a podium. The bulk of hospital functions would be contained in the base portion, and the tower use for inpatient beds and overnight stays.
The year-long struggle to strike a balance between meeting the hospital's operational needs and state construction requirements and community apprehension about the visual impacts of such a large structure on the neighborhood resulted in a number of significant changes to the design. While the hospital moved ambulance bays and other utilitarian functions off Piedmont Avenue, not all community concerns have been addressed.
First, there are the lights. Kaiser's plans include two large, lighted signs identifying the hospital, one atop the tower and another on the podium. Several speakers suggested that the signs would become an eyesore for the surrounding community and negatively impact Oakland's skyline. Speakers noted that opposition to lighted signs had been unanimous at previous community input meetings, and more than one person suggested that the large signs would be hazardous, since people driving past the building would be likely to look at them instead of the road, and possibly run over pedestrians as a result. Others complained that the signs were nothing more than "giant corporate advertising," suggesting that "There are other ways to let people know this is a hospital besides signs." Others worried that the energy required to light the sign would mean the project was not environmentally friendly, and that the light from the signs would impede the ability of animals in nearby Mosswood Park to see the Milky Way.
The Commissioners were unsympathetic to protests about signage, but agreed with community complaints about the look of the tower portion of the building. Commissioner Ann Mudge compared the building to a "big Days Inn" more appropriate for Ohio than Oakland, and Commission Chair Michael Colbruno called the design "an insult to the neighborhood and to Oakland," likening it to buildings he had seen during a visit to East Germany before the Berlin Wall was removed.
The Commission also agreed with speakers who requested that Kaiser take steps to improve the street-level design on Broadway to be more pedestrian friendly. They requested that the hospital's cafeteria be open to the public and suggested potential ground floor uses of a gym or child care center to activate the street, but did not respond to the requests of several speakers that the plans be vetted by the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
With stern direction to redesign the building to be more attractive and feel less bulky, Kaiser will return to the Planning Commission on October 15th with a revised design proposal. |
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OAKLAND
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