Memorial Sloan Kettering Josie Robertson Surgery Center

New York, NY

A first-of-its-kind freestanding surgical facility for outpatient procedures in a state-of-the-art setting.

The Josie Robertson Surgery Center (JRSC) enables optimal care for the most complex specialty cancer surgeries. In response to its tight urban site and robust clinical program, the design team arranged the medical program vertically instead of the traditional horizontal distribution. The building design responds to this innovation through a veiled glass that transforms in opacity—creating visual cohesion to the myriad programs within, providing privacy and comfort for users without impacting views, and creating a signature for the neighborhood. Specially designed to engage patients, and caregivers, in their care, the JRSC allows patients to return home quickly after their procedures. It does so through uniquely planned spaces that provide much-needed respite and support, hospitality-inspired amenities that emulate the home recovery experience, ambulation zones that encourage patients to get up and socialize, and tracking technology that maximizes efficiencies and reduces stress and anxiety.

Project Facts

Client:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Size:

179,000 sq. ft.

Services:

Interior Design

Practice Areas:

Healthcare

Region:

United States

Studios:

New York

News

Insights article: "The Staff Lounge is Getting Some Serious Upgrades," Samantha Belfoure, Oct. 16, 2025

"A Surgery Center that Doubles as an Idea Lab," New York Times, Dec. 26, 2015

"Reinventing Cancer Surgery by Designing a Better Hospital Experience," Fast Company, Dec. 3, 2015

"New ambulatory surgical center provides home-like setting for recovery," Healthcare Facilities Management Magazine, Aug. 22, 2016

"Showcase 2016: Josie Robertson Surgery Center, MSK Cancer Center, New York," Healthcare Design Magazine, Aug. 4, 2016