Leonard Morse Hospital

Natick, MA, 1969 by Markus, Nocka, Payette & Associates, Inc.

Natick’s Leonard Morse hospital was founded in 1891 through a donation to the town from the late Mary Ann Morse, a prominent local figure who’s husband Leonard owned a profitable shoe factory downtown. Initially acting mainly as a maternity ward and nursery, the hospital would grow to become the emergency center for the area with the help of the Commonwealth. In 1965, the town determined that a new hospital building was necessary to keep up with advancing technology.

The town hired the firm Markus, Nocka and Payette (now Payette) and the project was led by their newest partner Tomas Payette. The resulting building embodies what the firm calls “Yankee Modernism” which ties together cost effective materials and an elegant design sensibility with inventive new approaches to programming and technology. The facade uses a paired back palette of concrete and glass to create a series of large balconies with equally sized windows that connect patients with the surrounding landscape. The colors of panels inlaid in the facade are repeated inside to make the patient rooms warm and inviting.

The logic of the building’s plan revolves around the modernist idea that patients are best served through a strong connection to the environment. Patient rooms line the exterior of the upper floors and often protrude directly out over the building spaces. Inside, the sloped site helps to create a series of courtyards which act not only as lightwells but outdoor gathering spaces through the more communal ground floors like dining areas or a play terrace for the pediatric wing. Circulation is organized around a single spine for easier navigation and connection to the multistory pedestrian bridge which connects back to existing buildings on campus. These improvements and innovations in Leonard Morse helped spur a boom in new New England regional medical centers throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Sources: The Architectural Forum, June 1971.
AIA Journal, June 1971.
“PayetteForward: Reflecting on our Roots” Payette