Hospital of wood

Eschewing steel and concrete creates warm spaces that may aid in healing

A new hospital is taking its first steps. After decades of planning, designing, and haggling over purpose and money, a new hospital is emerging in Picton. It is still early days. Ninety holes are currently being drilled 400 feet beneath the surface. The wells will drive the new hospital’s geothermal energy enhancement system. Once complete, foundation work will begin, and the structure will follow.

However, the building proposed in Picton is unlike other large commercial structures built in our lifetime. Hospitals are typically framed by steel and walled in concrete. The new Picton hospital will instead be made of wood—a mass timber structure, wood floor panels and wood detailing.

It is a method of building that fell out of fashion with the advent of steel and concrete. In the intervening decades, we’ve learned that these materials put an undue burden on the environment and the air we breathe. Ultimately, a structure made of wood is renewable and the source product will grow back.

When considering the lifespan of the new hospital, the timber used in its construction will be regrown, explained Ernie Margetson. Margetson is a trained engineer and a member of the Campaign Cabinet of the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH) Foundation—the organization tasked with funding the community’s portion of costs.

He cites other benefits of wood construction including an abundance of supply—potentially a critical issue in the context of American tariffs. Canada has a lot of trees coupled with well-established means to harvest and process into lumber.

However, there may be another crucial benefit to wooden architecture. Researchers suggest that the presence of wood contributes to feelings of wellbeing— that the presence of warm natural materials may help in healing in a way that cold concrete and steel cannot.

Tye Farrow has been writing and promoting the restorative qualities of wood structures for a couple of decades. Farrow is a Canadian architect and urban designer who has written a boo (Constructing Health) about how building design and choices influence the well-being of those who experience it.

“The restorative effects of wood have also been documented in medical facilities and long-term care facilities,” writes Farrow. He cites a Finnish study that recorded residents’ subjective experience in their exposure to wood interiors and an increase in hopefulness (Snyder’s Hope Theory).

We could all use a bit more hopefulness.

The new Picton hospital is being described in architectural circles as the first “all mass timber acute care hospital” in North America. As such, it is expected to represent a fresh look at wooden materials in construction—sustainable, renewable and health-promoting. As other communities examine ways to reduce carbon emissions, the Picton hospital seems bound to elicit global attention.

A warmer, more sympathetic architecture and the positive feelings that flow from it may also contribute to a more welcoming work environment that could boost efforts to attract and retain doctors and healthcare professionals.

The hospital was designed by HDR, a global architectural and engineering firm, through its office in Kingston. M. Sullivan and Son, a large Ottawa-based builder with support from a host of County trades and sub-contractors, are constructing it.

Hospital construction is expected to be substantially complete by the end of next year, with a transfer from the existing building to commence in mid-2027. The parking lot and landscaping will follow due to the site’s constraints.

Other sustainable features include the geothermal heating system, integrated solar PV panels and a green roof. Large energy-efficient windows will enable vast amounts of natural light to flood the facility, enhancing the healing quality of the structure. The windows will be operable in that they may be opened or closed as desired.

Margetson expects the choices made in this new facility will serve as a source of pride for this community for a long time.