To ease the stress of daylong chemotherapy sessions, ZGF created a tranquil sanctuary for a Brooklyn infusion center for New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Warm woods and greenery lend a garden feel to the 7,745-square-foot storefront space, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Brooklyn street on which the facility is located. At the reception, for instance, a slatted-wood ceiling loosely references a pergola, and a number of plants are viewable just beyond.

Operating on a “chemo-ready” model, the facility takes appointments for those patients who’ve already gone through the blood work and screening at the main Cancer Center in Manhattan, dramatically reducing time spent in a waiting room. When guests do wait, the experience is made pleasant thanks to an open central lounge area meticulously composed of a soothing water feature, clean white surfaces, bamboo floors, and custom Corian planters with integrated seating—one of which is backed by a wall punched with squares for display. Rope lights at the base of the planters and ceiling cove lighting provide an ethereal touch. Angular ceiling planes within the waiting area read as more cutting-edge rather than clinical.

“The consistent message across built projects is that interior architecture and design reconcile with each other. Everything works for an overarching concept, an integrative whole,” said a competition juror.
The treatment “pods” incorporate custom chemotherapy chairs equipped with multimedia touch-screens to help pass the time away. For privacy, patients within the pods can slide an etched-glass door closed but still have views of the garden-like main space.


ambulatory care honorable mention
Designer ZGF Architects LLP
Client Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Where Brooklyn, New York