The Globe and Mail

Kasian Kennedy/Zeidler Roberts

It is the most beautiful place you could ever hope to never have the misfortune to visit. For children with a serious injury, a terrible illness, or a chronic disease, the new Alberta Children's Hospital will prove to be an oasis. The $253-million Calgary facility, slated to open in a few weeks -- ahead of schedule, no less -- is an architectural and medical marvel: a state-of-the-art health-care facility with a homey feeling. What distinguishes the Alberta Children's Hospital from other health-care institutions in Canada is not only its newness (it's the first freestanding pediatric hospital built in Canada in 20 years) but its youth-friendly look and feel. Children, parents, nurses and physicians, all patients and caregivers past, present and future, had a say in every aspect of the design.