Partners in the Mission
FKP Architects Gives $100,000 to New Pavilion for Women
By Kathy Isdale
FKP Architects, Inc., the nationally acclaimed design firm responsible for the architectural gem in progress that is Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, has been one of the hospital’s most loyal partners for 17 years. FKP’s leadership recently demonstrated once again the strength and importance of that partnership with a gift of $100,000 in support of the Pavilion for Women.
The firm had previously made a $100,000 gift to the hospital’s Building for Children expansion effort that included the Clinical Care Center and West Tower vertical addition. The company also continually supports and participates in hospital events.
Moreover, FKP has provided pro bono services on three projects for The Rise School, a Texas Children’s affiliate. For the school’s new 23,000-square-foot home, the architects also solicited pro bono services from such noted consultants as Walter P Moore, The Broussard Group and Smith Seckman Reid, Inc.
FKP’s principals have two powerful reasons for supporting Texas Children’s healing mission. “Above all else,” says FKP’s president and chief executive officer, John Crane, AIA, ACHA, “is the experience our staff, especially senior staff, have had with their own children at the hospital. You’ve saved the lives of several of our kids—even before we started working for Texas Children’s!”
Diane Osan, FAIA, ACHA, a principal at FKP, is partner in charge of FKP’s current work on the Pavilion for Women and was a lead designer in the earlier expansion program. She has been a Texas Children’s parent and notes that another partner has been an advocate on the hospital’s Family Advisory Board. “Being parents of patients has engendered a very personal connection and a special understanding of Texas Children’s mission and delivery processes,” she says.
Crane says that the second reason for FKP’s allegiance to Texas Children’s is the professional working relationship they have formed over the years. “It’s a once-in-a-career experience to create the sort of collaboration our firm and the hospital have achieved,” he says.
“The expansion we did beginning in 1998 with the hospital and Bellows Construction was an unmatched example of owner-architect-builder forming a single team. The bonding we achieved and the quality of the results were just unbelievable—1.2 million square feet in 44 months from start of programming to move-in—unheard of at that time!” Crane explains.
Those buildings won numerous awards, and Crane notes that such a collaborative approach is now a sought-after standard in the health care design/construction industry.
“FKP and Texas Children’s Hospital have mutually put each other on the map in terms of children’s hospital facilities,” Osan says.
After completing the Building for Children projects, FKP continued working with the hospital to develop the master plan under which the Pavilion for Women and other major facilities are being built.
During the years of working with Texas Children’s, FKP has grown from 50 employees to 150, with offices across the country. “A huge part of our growth and success has been because of that relationship with Texas Children’s, and you give back to those who have invested in you," Crane says. “We feel privileged to contribute back where we have the opportunities.”
