North Austin Campus
Families arriving at Texas Children’s Hospital in North Austin are welcomed with a clear, thoughtful campus design to ease their visit. Whether a routine appointment with their doctor, a scheduled test or procedure, or an unscheduled visit to the Emergency Center, each visit has been planned with patients and family members in mind.
The hospital for women and children serves the growing population of the 10th largest city in the US. But the most important feature is that Central Texas kids and moms-to-be can receive world-class care closer to home. Every element of the interiors is thoughtfully designed to support uplifting experiences, emphasizing comfort and care.
The hospital includes a neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care, operating rooms, epilepsy monitoring, a sleep center, emergency center, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, acute care, and a fetal center for advanced fetal interventions and surgery with a special high-risk delivery unit.
Awards
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12024 Design Award Lean Construction Institute (LCI)
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22024 Project Leadership Award, Construction Owners Association of America (COAA)
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32024 Healthcare Design Awards, Ambulatory / Pediatric category Winner International, Interior Design Association (IIDA)
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42024 Impact Award, Best Project Design Award, ULI Austin
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52024 Outstanding Construction Award, Category Building 7 (Over $150 million), Associated General Contractors of America - Austin Chapter
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Completed in less than four years, this four-building campus embodies efficiency, innovation, and sustainability. Prioritizing environmental responsibility, the hospital earned an Austin Energy Green Building 3-star certification, integrating rainwater recycling and energy-efficient systems.
Inspired by the Texas Hill Country, the design blends limestone exteriors, themed floors, and local artwork to create a welcoming, restorative environment. With future expansion embedded in the master plan, the campus is positioned to evolve alongside Central Texas’s growing healthcare needs.
Lean project delivery
Launching in February 2020, this project faced an immediate challenge—COVID-19 halted progress for six weeks. When work resumed, the team adopted Lean project delivery methods, integrating Last Planner System®, Target Value Delivery, and Page’s Getting Decisions That Stick to streamline processes and maintain momentum. A strong team culture, built on collaboration and shared goals, enabled the project to overcome remote design constraints, supply chain disruptions, and historic inflation.
The campus was completed in just 31 months—on time, under budget, and in alignment with Texas Children’s Hospital’s high standards for quality. The team's innovative approach and commitment to excellence earned multiple industry awards, recognizing the project’s success and the team culture that made it possible.
Some of the most notable aspects of the Lean project delivery included the team’s commitment to respect, helping each other succeed, and committing to having fun and finishing the project as friends. The team’s creation of CFOs (Chief Fun Officers) has gained wide recognition.
Testimonial
“This team captured lightning in a bottle. We created a team culture that was unlike anything we had experienced. We believe the secret sauce was the team chemistry, Lean training, and our commitment to have fun and finish as friends. We did exactly that, on time and under budget.”Gaurav “GK” KhadseFacilities Planning & Development and Real Estate ServicesTexas Children’s Hospital
Healthcare planning
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Inspired by place
On level two, Women’s Services follows a “Waterways” theme, using cool, soothing colors and nature-inspired forms to create an inclusive, emotionally sensitive space beyond traditional pediatric imagery.
For this new campus for children and women, the design team worked closely with stakeholders to choose a “Central Texas Landscapes” theme, establishing a framework to guide meaningful integration across all disciplines.
Each level reflects a distinct Hill County topographical environment, from “Caverns” on the lowest level to “Texas Sky” at the top. These environments were tied to specific identifiers—an “activity or landmark,” a “critter,” and representative “flora” of the area—creatively expressed through color, texture, form, light, and graphics. Weaving them into the building’s design created a “pattern with a purpose” that aligns seamlessly with the hospital’s brand.
Flooring designs reinforce this concept, with dark tones defining the field, while medium and accent colors shape pathways and destinations. A mix of carpet textures adds visual depth, echoing the surrounding landscape.
On level two, Women’s Services follows a “Waterways” theme, using cool, soothing colors and nature-inspired forms to create an inclusive, emotionally sensitive space beyond traditional pediatric imagery.
Exceeding sustainability expectations
As local leaders in Austin Energy Green Building, the predecessor to LEED, Page directed the sustainability efforts. Grounded in clear goals and team alignment, the project surpassed the 2-star AEGB requirement to achieve a 3-star rating.
Maximizing access to nature, the walkable site incorporated large existing trees wherever possible, limited disturbance of the wetland-sensitive areas, and restored local vegetation and habitat. 100% of irrigation comes from the onsite pond that collects rainwater and reuses condensate from air cooling systems. Building performance analysis was used to inform design decisions of the building envelope and building systems to reduce both by $500k in first cost and $140k every year after in energy savings. The project leveraged a district cooling strategy coupled with an onsite reduction strategy to achieve an EUI of 58 kBTU/SF and a 34% reduction in peak energy usage.
In close collaboration with our contracting partners, the project prioritized low-emitting and healthy materials without compromising health standards. Active wayfinding, access to nature, biophilic-informed interiors, and local produce purchasing policies all contribute toward a meaningful connection to place.
Commissioning
Page Commissioning played a key role in optimizing energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness at Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin. Through a comprehensive design review of the Central Plant sequence of operations, the team verified that chillers, heat recovery chillers, and boiler systems were implemented for maximum efficiency and minimal energy waste.
By analyzing system operations, Page identified opportunities to optimize equipment staging—prioritizing heat recovery chillers to capture waste heat and reduce boiler runtime. This strategic approach minimized gas usage and lowered overall energy consumption in the chilled water plant, delivering long-term cost savings for the hospital.
Texas Children’s Hospital set a goal of achieving a 2-star rating under the Austin Energy Green Building program—and exceeded it. The campus earned a 3-star rating through innovative solutions like condensate water recycling, energy-efficient systems, and landscape design rooted in Central Texas ecology, advancing its mission toward net-zero emissions by 2050.
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