Nationwide Children’s Hospital – Conference + Data Center

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

A first-of-its-kind healthcare hub brings together mission-critical digital infrastructure, medical simulation, and education, turning a traditional data center into an active part of campus life.

Location

Columbus, Ohio

Client

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Expertise

Critical Facilities Healthcare Hospitality

Opportunity

Most hospitals treat data centers and education facilities as separate building types with entirely different security, operational, and experiential requirements. Nationwide Children’s asked whether they could become one integrated destination instead.

As healthcare becomes increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, Nationwide Children’s Hospital needed to expand both its technology capacity and workforce education. Rather than investing in separate facilities, the organization saw an opportunity to rethink how mission-critical infrastructure could actively support learning, collaboration, and innovation. The challenge was to create a building that met rigorous operational and security requirements while serving as an inviting campus destination, one that strengthens interdisciplinary connections today and adapts to the evolving needs of healthcare tomorrow.

Why This Matters

01
Maximize One Investment
Combining digital infrastructure, education, and conferencing creates greater value from a single capital investment while reducing duplication and supporting multiple organizational priorities in one facility.
02
Build Future Resilience
Healthcare technology and workforce needs continue to evolve. Flexible, integrated facilities help organizations adapt while supporting uninterrupted operations and long-term institutional growth.
03
Strengthen Collaboration
Bringing clinicians, educators, researchers, and technology teams together encourages everyday collaboration, accelerating knowledge sharing and strengthening the environment that supports better patient care.

The facility represents a substantial addition to our main campus infrastructure and serves as an important center for both technology operations and educational development.

Solution

Rather than concealing the data center in an isolated facility, the design stacks public learning environments beneath secure digital infrastructure, allowing each program to operate independently while sharing a unified architectural identity.

The design vertically integrates public-facing and highly secure functions within a single structure. A medical simulation center and conference hub occupy the lower levels, creating active connections to a central campus plaza and encouraging engagement across disciplines. Above, the data center is securely positioned behind a carefully designed fritted façade that conceals sensitive infrastructure while maintaining a cohesive building identity. This balance of transparency and protection transforms a traditionally inward-looking building type into a visible contributor to campus life.

From brief to build: thoughtfully combining secure infrastructure and collaborative learning environments within a single campus destination.

Designing a facility that welcomes people while protecting mission-critical operations required every planning decision to reinforce both openness and security. Working closely with hospital leadership and technical partners, the team studied adjacencies, circulation, vertical organization, and building systems to ensure each program could operate independently without compromising the overall experience. The result is a carefully choreographed building where architecture, engineering, and operational planning work together to support resilience, learning, and long-term flexibility.

Integrated Program Strategy

Layered planning organizes secure operations, education spaces, and public functions while supporting independent yet connected experiences.

Impact

By reimagining a traditional utility building as an active campus destination, the project advances technology, education, and collaboration through one integrated facility.

The facility expands digital capacity while creating new opportunities for workforce development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation across Nationwide Children’s growing healthcare campus.

What Changed Because of This

01
Smarter Investment
A single integrated building delivers technology infrastructure, education, and conference functions, maximizing long-term value while reducing the need for separate facilities.
02
Stronger Connections
Purposefully designed gathering spaces encourage collaboration among clinicians, educators, researchers, and technology teams who previously worked in separate environments.
03
Ready for Growth
Flexible planning supports expanding technology needs and evolving healthcare education, allowing the facility to adapt alongside future organizational priorities.

Mission-critical infrastructure doesn’t have to sit apart from the people it serves. This project demonstrates how resilient technology, education, and architecture can come together to strengthen the entire healthcare ecosystem.

Recognition

01

Healthcare Design Magazine

Featured in Healthcare Design Magazine for its innovative integration of medical simulation, conference facilities and data infrastructure.

02

Interior Design Magazine

Featured in Interior Design Magazine among Gensler’s notable healthcare projects as part of the firm’s 60th anniversary celebration.

03

Interior Design Magazine

Highlighted in Interior Design Magazine’s annual Giants issue for its community service architecture.

Team

Project Leadership

Jackson Metcalf

Jackson is a Principal and Studio Director in Gensler’s Chicago office and a leader in the firm’s Critical Facilities practice. He drives some of the practice’s strongest client relationships and brings an influential, forward-looking perspective to one of the fastest-evolving sectors in design.

Grant Uhlir

As Gensler’s Global Director of Large Projects, Grant combines strategic design leadership, client relationship expertise, and proven project management experience to guide large, complex projects worldwide.

[FPO] Matthew Majack

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FAQ

01

What are the benefits of combining mission-critical infrastructure with education spaces?

Bringing these functions together maximizes a single capital investment while creating stronger connections between technology, workforce development, and collaboration across the healthcare organization.

02

Who can benefit from this hybrid building model?

Healthcare systems, academic medical centers, research institutions, and organizations with significant digital infrastructure can all benefit from integrating technology, education, and collaboration within one facility.

03

How can mission-critical infrastructure remain secure in a shared building?

The design carefully separates public and secure areas through vertical organization, circulation planning, and layered security strategies, allowing each function to operate independently.

04

Why is this project significant for healthcare design?

The project demonstrates how essential digital infrastructure can become an active contributor to patient care, workforce development, and institutional innovation instead of remaining hidden behind the scenes.

05

What makes this project different from a traditional data center?

Rather than functioning as isolated back-of-house infrastructure, the building actively supports learning, innovation, and campus life while delivering the resilience required for critical healthcare operations.

06

How does this design support future growth?

Flexible planning allows education, conference, and simulation spaces to evolve alongside changing technology needs while maintaining uninterrupted data center operations.

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Related Expertise

Critical Facilities Healthcare Hospitality

A first-of-its-kind healthcare hub brings together mission-critical digital infrastructure, medical simulation, and education, turning a traditional data center into an active part of campus life.

Most hospitals treat data centers and education facilities as separate building types with entirely different security, operational, and experiential requirements. Nationwide Children’s asked whether they could become one integrated destination instead.

Why This Matters

Rather than concealing the data center in an isolated facility, the design stacks public learning environments beneath secure digital infrastructure, allowing each program to operate independently while sharing a unified architectural identity.

From brief to build: thoughtfully combining secure infrastructure and collaborative learning environments within a single campus destination.

By reimagining a traditional utility building as an active campus destination, the project advances technology, education, and collaboration through one integrated facility.

What Changed Because of This