Responding to the rapidly growing needs of Berkeley County, HCM partnered with Roper St. Francis Healthcare to envision and deliver a major expansion to the Berkeley Hospital campus, creating a unified, future focused healthcare destination centered on clarity, wellness, and community presence.
The project introduces a new four-story inpatient tower that dramatically reorients the campus. The expansion is strategically positioned along the main road with a bold vertical corner element and integrated signage, transforming visibility and establishing an unmistakable sense of arrival. The tower’s signature form, a three-story inpatient wing “floating” above first floor clinical services, balances warmth and modernity through thoughtfully composed prefabricated brick panels, metal cladding, and rhythmic curtainwall inspired by the proportional harmony of the Fibonacci sequence.
A central design priority was campus unity, turning what was once a two acre “field of dreams” between buildings into a fully connected circulation network with intuitive on stage (public) and off stage (staff) pathways. Inside, this vision is reinforced by a day-lit, enclosed “grand concourse” that links the existing hospital to the new medical office building. The concourse offers welcoming waiting areas, clear wayfinding, and weather-protected access across the campus.
Guided by evidence-based and human-centered design principles, the expansion enhances the experience for patients, visitors, and caregivers alike. Abundant daylight, views to new gardens, and natural materials support comfort and healing. Recognizing the essential role of caregivers, the design prioritizes staff wellbeing through larger, day-lit lounges and work zones with direct access to natural light.
The program significantly increases access to high quality care in the region, including a major expansion of the emergency department, imaging, and surgical services; 58 new acute care beds; a dedicated dialysis unit; and future inpatient rehabilitation space. A separate vertical addition provides new Labor & Delivery rooms and a Level II NICU to serve high risk pregnancies close to home.
Construction occurred while the hospital remained fully operational, requiring meticulous phasing, protective strategies, and complex coordination above sensitive spaces such as imaging and surgical prep. Extensive prefabrication included panelized exterior walls, standardized toilet pods, prefabricated electrical rooms, and pre manufactured patient room walls resulting in reduced impact to an operational hospital as well as improved quality, and accelerated installation.
Anchored by a welcoming two-story main lobby that opens directly onto a tranquil garden, the Berkeley Hospital Expansion represents a timeless, nature-inspired environment that strengthens community access to care while ensuring capacity for future growth.
