Johns Hopkins Hospital's Artful New Building

Art changes the ways you look at things, but it also changes the things themselves. And it's certainly true of a children's hospital. At Johns Hopkins, our children's hospital tries to focus on those kids most at need. Johns Hopkins, as an institution, has always integrated art into the patient care environment. They historically have used original pieces within patient rooms and throughout lobbies. The art program for the new facility came about with the Bloomberg Foundation gift. And part of the condition of the gift was that a percentage of it would go towards art to the new facility. The commitment is very well understood and is very serious in its intention. And it really is about finding a route to achieve the greatest potential of any project. It's so important to remember the human spirit in it. And I think that the art speaks to that. And it reminds us of our humanity. If you can allay a child's fear, there's a lot to be said for. Maybe the outcomes will be a lot better as well. I hope that this project serves as a model for future designs, for art and architecture incorporated into hospitals and various other projects. We've looked at ways to improve on ideas or to make them kind of authentic and honest to what we were trying to create in the design. What I would like for the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Center is to be the role model for other hospitals. There's six and a half billion people in the world. We need lots of great hospitals. And hopefully, there'll be lots of new hospitals created. They'll even be better.