Neuroscience Center

Healthpartners

The new HealthPartners Neuroscience Center is the largest freestanding neuroscience facility in the Upper Midwest, combining laboratories for clinical research and trials with nationally recognized programs for a variety of neurological disorders. Working together, BWBR and HealthPartners selected a site that affords high visibility and transparency, both into and out of the facility, to effectively remove the mysteries that surround neurological treatment.

Challenged by cognitive/memory issues as well as physical abilities, this unique patient population’s needs drove the Center’s design. Oversized environmental graphic elements and textured walls – easier to remember than numbers – assist patients and families in navigating the center. Exam rooms are spacious to accommodate patients’ mobility needs and feature large wall-mounted monitors to help patients clearly see and understand their treatment information.

Following the gentle, spine-like curves of the exterior façade, a garden seating area features paths, ramps, and steps made of various materials to help patients learn how to walk with confidence in a real-world setting, including through seasonal transitions. Iconic on the outside with a simple aesthetic on the inside, the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center is a facility that is made to be approachable, flexible, and hopeful, allowing patients to see they are not alone in their fight for a life they know.