In pictures: Toronto's Bridgepoint hospital connects with its neighbourhood and the past
A new building on a historic site, Bridgepoint Hospital's mission is to transform the approach to complex care and rehabilitation
Bridgepoint Hospital stands high above the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto. It will open in April. Health services, however, have been offered on the Bridgepoint site ever since the House of Refuge was established there in 1860. It became one of the first public hospitals in Toronto and in 1869 it helped to contain a smallpox epidemic.Tom Arban
Plenary Health was awarded the 33-year contract to design, build, finance and maintain the new Bridgepoint hospital.Tom Arban
The new hospital is part of the Riverdale neighbourhood, east of the downtown core. The project is aiming for LEED certification with green design features such as low-flow fixtures, rainwater re-use and a green roof. About 75 per cent of construction waste is being diverted from landfill.Tom Arban
Vertical windows symbolize patients getting back on their feet. The hospital will focus on complex chronic disease and disability care. All aspects of the building have been designed to get patients with multiple ailments out of their rooms and motivated to manage their illnesses.Tom Arban
An architect’s rendering of the completed Bridgepoint Hospital next to a restored 148-year-old Don Jail, where the hospital’s administrative offices will be located.Tom Arban
The hospital aims to be visitor friendly, with a rooftop garden and other outdoor landscaping features such as a labyrinth sized for wheelchairs to promote mobilization.The entire $1.2-billion project is to be completed in the spring of 2014.Tom Arban