Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has won a National Honor Award from the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association for the terrazzo floors in the hospital’s new West Tower in suburban Milwaukee, which opened in April 2009.
The hospital’s floors, which depict natural elements, were created as a way to transport children from the hospital setting to places in nature, with imagery drawn from botanical and wild life of Wisconsin. Each floor is a graphic rendition of earth, ocean and sky, culminating in a collage of nature’s images in the main lobby. The terrazzo inlay and patterns animate public spaces while helping guide patients and visitors, with bluebirds swooping across the floor of the main lobby, drawing visitors to the main elevators.
Since the hospital’s completion, the terrazzo floors have delighted young patients and their families, surrounding them with rich and vivid images of nature, offering an important counterpoint to the powerful medicine practiced here.
