AdventHealth Altamonte Springs Hospital Lobby Renovation

Reimagining the Front Door of Healing

The hospital lobby renovation is the first thing patients and families experience—often at some of the most stressful moments of their lives. That arrival sets the tone for the entire patient experience, making a functional, welcoming space essential.

Built in the late 1990s, the main lobby at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs was ready for a refresh. The space struggled with two notable pain points: wayfinding and obstructed views that disconnected visitors from the calming courtyard just beyond. We saw an opportunity to do more than refresh finishes. We set out to solve real problems for the people who walk through the front door every day.

Goals & Outcomes

Our team focused on clear, people-first objectives for this hospital lobby renovation:

• Improve wayfinding so visitors move intuitively from the entrance to the elevators.
• Restore sightlines to the courtyard and natural light.
• Create a calming arrival experience that reduces stress.
• Design flexible waiting spaces that serve different visitor needs.
• Maintain full hospital operations throughout construction.

An Evidence-Based Approach to Healthcare Interior Design

We took a deliberate, evidence-based approach to understanding the space from the perspectives of both patients and employees. Our team conducted structured observations and surveys at different times of day, morning, afternoon, and overnight, and interviewed patients, visitors, and staff to learn how the space actually worked.

This research surfaced the most pressing issues, and it gave us something even more valuable: data. By bringing real findings to our client, we worked together not only on a beautiful renovation but on a design that directly addressed the drawbacks in the space. That’s the heart of patient experience design…listening before we draw.

This research-based approach allowed us to bring data to our client and work together not only on a beautiful renovation but also on a design that would address any drawbacks in the space.

A Design That Heals

Biophilic Inspiration from Lake Adelaide

Research consistently shows that biophilic environments, those that incorporate natural elements, light, and organic forms, improve patient outcomes and reduce stress. The property’s beautiful courtyard, centered around a reflecting pond, naturally inspired us to incorporate the surrounding landscape and create a deeper sense of peace and calm.

Drawing inspiration from nearby Lake Adelaide, which holds deep roots in both Altamonte Springs history and the hospital’s own story, our team wove water, light, and natural texture throughout every layer of the design. The new lobby opens visually to the courtyard, with sightlines restored from the moment you walk through the front door.

A Custom Centerpiece: Art Born from Collaboration

At the heart of the lobby stands a custom installation that anchors the entire design. Our team held a creative, in-person charrette, bringing out paintbrushes and watercolors to hand-craft the imagery that became the central ceiling feature and is echoed across the front desk surface.

Those hand-drawn strokes were digitally layered with photography of Lake Adelaide and subtle rippling water effects, then translated into polycarbonate three-form panels with varying opacities, thicknesses, and saturation levels to create movement and depth.

This wasn’t an off-the-shelf art solution. It was a piece designed from the ground up, one that carries the history of the place and the spirit of the community. No matter where you stand in the lobby, including the mezzanine level, it holds your attention and draws you toward the center of the space.

Intuitive Wayfinding, Thoughtfully Embedded

The new design uses flooring movement, built-in architectural elements, and spatial sequencing to guide visitors naturally from the entrance to the elevator banks. We relocated the gift shop closer to the central circulation path, and the entire layout works together so the path forward feels intrinsic.

Waiting Zones Designed for Its People

The second-level surgery waiting area received equal attention. Our previous observational studies revealed that people wait in very different ways: some need solitude, others need to stay productive, and some just want a place to breathe. The new space includes:

• High-top worktables with power connectivity for visitors managing work during long waits.
• Soft lounge seating for those who want comfort and proximity.
• A quiet nook tucked in the corner for people needing privacy and calm during hours-long procedures.

Since opening, that quiet nook has consistently been full. People find their way to it and stay.

A Hospitality-Inspired Palette and Design Inspiration

Our interior design team took a hospitality-forward approach to the color palettes and materials, one that feels more like a boutique hotel lobby than a clinical facility. The palette is anchored in navy, teal, and sage green, drawn from water imagery, and balanced with warm browns and earthy neutrals that bring the grounding quality of nature. Textiles were selected for their texture and tactile quality, understated and luxurious to the touch, but specified and built for healthcare durability.

The same color palette developed for the textiles and wall coverings was shared directly with the fabricators of the custom panel installation, ensuring visual cohesion runs through every surface in the space. Halo lighting around the lobby columns creates the illusion of greater ceiling height, softening the space and giving it a sense of openness.

Delivering Through Operational Complexity

Healthcare doesn’t stop for renovation or construction. This project required a carefully sequenced, four-phase construction approach, coordinated in close partnership with the general contractor, hospital leadership, and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), to maintain continuous, code-compliant operations throughout the build.

• Multiple phasing reviews with AHCA and ongoing construction inspections.
• Detailed access planning so patients always had safe, clear entry points. While the main vestibule was under construction, we activated the emergency department canopy entry by installing a temporary desk.
• Sequenced terrazzo flooring, poured in deliberate segments and engineered to read as a single continuous surface upon completion. The main lobby work was executed in halves.
• Transparent communication, including large-format renderings posted in the space so staff and visitors could see the vision taking shape.

That forward-looking transparency helped make a 15- to 16-month build feel like a shared journey rather than an extended disruption.

A Space That Sets the Tone for Care

The reimagined lobby plays a crucial role in the patient journey, setting the tone for care. The arrival experience is calm, clear, and connected—to the outdoors, to the community, and to the mission of the people who work and heal there.

This project is a testament to what happens when curiosity, data, and design work together—when a team listens before it draws, and when a client and design partner share a genuine commitment to the people who walk through the door.