Astorino applied fathom's design research method to the new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. By combining and translating the thoughts and feelings of patients and families, the workflow and insights of medical staff and the cost control concerns of the administration, Astorino architects created a meaningful design that will truly meet the needs of the users.

One of fathom's partner research firms, Olson Zaltman Associates, conducted ZMET interviews with each of the 30 participants and several common themes surfaced. On a fundamental and metaphoric level, feelings about the ideal hospital emerged as a transformative experience, providing a "sense of renewal," as one employee noted.

To that end, the filtering process produced unique design solutions that are incorporated throughout the hospital. The building's exterior communicates that Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is a facility that is dynamic and alive. Water features and a kinetic sculpture at the front entrance provide movement and appeal to all senses. Upon entering the hospital, patients, visitors and staff will travel through the main "Transformation Corridor," which expresses the evolution of healing through design elements suggestive of change or transformation.