St. Joseph's Infirmary, Atlanta's downtown hospital founded more than 90 years ago, will become part of the Peachtree Center Complex.

Sister Mary Brian, RSM, Administrator, announced the approval by the Board of Trustees to initiate expansion plans immediately.

The architectural firm of Abreu and Robeson has been retained to design the new concept. The design will be decided only after thorough study of the most modern concepts of hospital construction as well as the way the new hospital will fit into the growing Peachtree Center environment.

"We are strongly in favor of the cylindrical towers much like those in the Mayo Clinic," stated Sister Brian. "Too, we have consulted John Portman, designer-developer of the Peachtree Center Regency-Hyatt House buildings. He sees our towers as an architectural complement and integral part of this already famous complex."

The towers will follow the trend of building "up" rather than "out," thus conserving space and adding speed and efficiency to hospital services.

The board's planning committee foresees the expansion of St. Joseph's into a sophisticated medical center staffed and equipped to perform more research and more of the advanced medical procedures. These will include among others the latest cardiac services, vascular surgery, neurology and neurological surgery and radiological diagnoses and therapy.