The Gies Family Centre, located in Waterloo, Ontario, is a state-of-the-art facility delivering integrated hospice palliative care services for the community that was designed by NEO Architecture Inc.
Upon completion, Hospice Waterloo Region (HWR) became the model for hospice care facilities throughout the province.
The centre, which opened in 2021, combines three buildings into one; housing a ten-bed residence, a client service wing with medical facilities and support services, and an educational and administrative centre.
Most of the centre is covered in natural stone aimed to represent the endurance of the human spirit, or natural wood that will weather and age with time.
While the 25,000 square-foot facility assimilates a barn and features a series of rectangles from the outside, it is actually centered around a circle inside. In the center is a large garden and reflection pond that is open to the sky which bathes the building in natural light.
The courtyard and reflection pond brings nature indoors as well as helps to connect and ground those inside to the world outside.
In addition to the 1,300 people being served in the community, the new facility, which also includes a hair salon and day programs, aims to serve roughly 200 people per year.
Project size: 25,000 sq ft
Completion date: 2021
Building levels: 2
Project Team: NEO Architecture Inc.
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