The jury acknowledged the unique challenges of remodeling and modernizing a building of this size and particular use. The architect did a very good job at meeting that challenge by seamlessly blending the old and the new architectural elements to create an entirely new experience for the user. The new building wing creates a dynamic tension with the existing structure improving the arrival experience while echoing the essential architectural elements of the original building. Congratulations Perkins Eastman.

Project Data:

Firm Name:              Perkins Eastman

Completion Date:     8/21/2017

Square Footage:      36400

Building Use:           One of the few facilities in the nation — and the only one in Orange County — to provide state-of-the-art care to patients with digestive diseases,

Location:                 Orange, CA

Project Description:

Originally envisioned as a single floor interior clinical remodel, the design team instead proposed a new vision for the Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center (CDDC). Located across the main open space from the campus’s new hospital, this vision makes a statement by positioning the CDDC as the new gateway building on the UCIMC campus.

The design team created a completely new facade that expanded the existing building floor plates and added substantial square footage on three floors. The result was an expansive, north facing lobby contained within glass curtain walls. The expanded building includes a new entrance lobby, registration area, and waiting area on the first floor of the building. The second floor is the new high-tech procedural hub of the department and houses both procedure and recovery space. The third floor addition and renovation provides expanded outpatient clinics and professional staff offices and meeting space.

The new design of the procedure suites and prep and recovery areas provides two key benefits to staff and patients. The clinical staff benefits from the latest imaging and diagnostic technologies in the new procedure rooms, which are about 1.5 times the size and infrastructure of the previous rooms. Patients now experience complete privacy in their prep and recovery, replacing tight quarters separated only by curtains with the prior facility. Patients also benefit by the expansion of the clinic on the third floor to provide more convenient one-stop service for their doctor visits and procedures.

Key ambitions were realized in the design and planning of the building. First is the seamless integration of the new building and renovated expanded areas on all three floors of the building. This was supported through the development of a contemporary and timeless aesthetic in the design. The new precast, curtain walls, and cantilevered canopy elements over the entry and third floor balcony give the building its bold yet elegant presence on the quad. The exterior materials relate to the existing campus architectural vocabulary, while expressing the feeling of high-touch and high tech patient care that occurs within the building.

Biophilic design that supports human health and productivity was the second major driver of design. Bringing the outdoors in, connecting to landscape elements, daylighting patient care spaces, creating elevated terraces with distant vistas, and bringing natural wood and stone materials within reach were strategies used to connect humans to nature.

C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment

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