Two of CO Architetects’ health education facilities and one medical center are a step closer to completion, as they top out with the last structural beams and move to the next phase of construction. Three recent national projects include: Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building in Phoenix, Arizona; University of Virginia Education Resource Center in Charlottesville, Virginia and Shriners for Children Medical Center in Pasadena, California.
The 10-story BSPB, designed in collaboration with Ayers Saint Gross, is the tallest addition to the inter-institutional Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The 245,000-square-foot building complements the adjacent, award-winning Health Science Education Building (also designed by CO Architects and Ayers Saint Gross) and allows research scientists to collaborate with private companies for new medical cures and treatments. Its distinctive copper-clad design draws inspiration from the region’s mountains and canyons. The new biosciences structure will closely resemble desert rock formations in its massing through pronounced setbacks and projections. Cantilevered floors extending increasingly outward at the top of the building will shade the lower levels. Windows located at the north and south sides of the building will help control daylight and conserve energy. BSPB is scheduled to open in January 2017. The general contractor on the project is DPR Construction• Sundt Construction, Inc., joint venture.
The 46,000-square-foot UVA ERC is designed to support educational programs and patient services in a building that acts as a literal bridge between a cancer center and garage. The main façade will be sheathed in high-performance, fritted glass and shaded by a metal canopy extending from the second level. ERC features a green roof to absorb stormwater run-off and to provide visual interest from UVA Medical Center’s patient rooms across the street. Grass-planted, sloping planes will extend from the concrete-paved plaza at the front of the building to the second level and basement. UVA ERC is scheduled to open in early 2017. Donley’s McCarthy is serving as general contractor.
The Shriners for Children Medical Center in Pasadena, California, is a new medical complex that will combine a contemporary, three-story building collaboratively designed with SRG Partnership and a healing-centered landscape created by Rios Clementi Hale Studios. The new, 74,800-square-foot building is part of a campaign to renovate Shriners’ aging facilities to better meet its mission of providing care to young patients, as well as advancing education and research. The building exterior consists of metal, glass and stone to convey the institutional presence of the new medical center and create a refined visual texture. The façade modulates to convey interior interaction spaces and identify the main pedestrian entrance. Energy-efficient glazing, protective overhangs and highly efficient mechanical systems are designed to save energy. Shriners is scheduled to open in Spring 2017. General contractor is DPR Construction.
Photo courtesy of CO Architects.
