Posted Apr 11, 2007, 7:37 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 185
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What's With The Dome?
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Denny Sanford's $400-million dollar donation to the former Sioux Valley Hospital has four intentions: To invest in Children by creating new pediatric clinics, expand research and fund a specific project in the medical field. And it allows for a new approach to healthcare campus and facility design. But of all the questions raised about the initiatives, one stands out among all others.
Looking over the architect's rendering, it's probably the first thing you'll notice. And the last thing you'd expect, a dome? Over four--yep, four--separate buildings.
The presentation played during Saturday’s announcement revealed details of the plan. DVD: "Sanford Research's success will be further distinguished by working in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health in areas such as cardiology, oncology, nutrition, disabilities and women's health." It all sounds impressive. It looks even more so-- an immense glass dome towering above the Sioux Falls skyline. An icon, if you will, of all that is Sanford Health.
So, what's with the dome? Kelby Krabbenhoft, Sanford Health CEO laughs and says, "The dome. My idea so I'll get blamed for it, but surprise, surprise Kelby would come up with that." Krabbenhoft is quick to recognize the similarities to a proposal made three years ago in an effort to lure the Minnesota Vikings training camp to the city. He jokes, "My staff and those closest to me say that this harkens back to my need to want to cover Howard Wood. So this is a sickness. Maybe we can cure that."
All joking aside, Krabbenhoft says the proposed structure would actually serve a serious role in the recruitment of the scientific superstars needed for the Sanford Research Initiative. He says, "We can sell the idea of going to work, parking underground, never putting on a coat 12 months of the year."
He also sees the dome as building a name for a city often confused with Sioux City. Krabbenhoft explains, "I just don't want anyone to forget it. If they remember South Dakota, great. If they remember Sioux Falls, super. But if it takes a dome for them to remember this is a great place and that's where the best research is going on, let's get it done."
Will it be the Kelby dome? Krabbenhoft says, "No! There will be no naming of anything. My mother stuck that name on me and we'll stop there."
Krabbenhoft also jokes that when he retires, he'll be the guy who has to clean all the glass. As for just how large the dome would be, no one knows at this point, but the world's largest dome in Wales is nearly a square mile in diameter.
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The most striking feature of the Sanford campus plan is the dome. It will house an expanded research program called Sanford Research, now known as South Dakota Health Research Foundation. It also will house the Sanford Project, a targeted search for significant progress on a single disease, to be chosen in one or two years.
Kelby Krabbenhoft, president of Sanford Health, conceived the idea as an architectural accent to complement the bold research agenda. He said it also will serve as a citywide landmark, "something remarkable, something that would be noteworthy and jog people's memory.
"The other thing is when you recruit talent: you're going to work through the winter in the Sanford research dome and not even put on your coat."......
In preparation for the overall expansion, the hospital and health center has acquired and removed more than 100 homes near its campus, along with the seminary property it agreed to buy in 2005.
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