Toronto Star

If you feel like you've stepped into an opera house or an art gallery when you enter the new Brampton Civic Hospital, it will be mission accomplished for John Christie. The lead architect of the high-tech hospital, slated to open Oct. 28, says his goal in designing it was to provide an esthetic rather than an antiseptic ambiance. The focal point of the 1.2 million-square-foot building is a soaring, 90-metre-long, three-storey high, light-filled atrium lined with windows on one side and oak and maple woods on the other. "The atrium is a space that could be a showcase for the hospital. The nice aspect is it can, on occasion, be a community space," says Christie, who exclusively designs health care facilities. With city halls, opera houses and art galleries, only some of the population will be lucky enough to take advantage of that space and visit those buildings, he adds.