Atrium Pavilion, Boston Medical Center

This eight-story L-shaped public entrance to the University Hospital complex is the central element in a succession of buildings leading to the Evans Research Laboratories, doctors' offices, the medical school, and the parking garage. Within, the structure is less confusing and more welcoming than its exterior. In fact, its three-story atrium serving as a waiting area could double as a modern hotel lobby, with its islands of seats, plantings, and overhanging balconies. From here, different paths lead to nursing care, dining facilities, surgical units, and emergency rooms—the whole composed to ensure a measure of tranquility.