DENVER, Colo. – UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital, designed by EYP Health, recently opened for its first patient. The new facility, located in Longmont, Colorado, provides advanced care and a high-quality patient experience close to home for the region’s residents.
Working with EYP Health, the Facilities Design and Construction team developed a plan for a small hospital that could grow over time. Longs Peak Hospital is the first of a few different greenfield community hospital locations to open.
The new 210,000-square-foot hospital provides more than 50 inpatient beds and room to expand to more than 100. The hospital features an intensive care unit, operating rooms, a Level III trauma center and emergency department, advanced cardiac services, a birth center with a Level II special care nursery, a surgery center and 24-hour retail pharmacy, laboratory and imaging services. In addition, Longs Peak Hospital patients will gain access to advanced treatments, complex surgeries and innovative clinical trials across the entire UCHealth system.
Longs Peak Hospital is designed to provide an exceptional and personal experience— a combination of services, physical design and brand image that make patients and family feel that the hospital is theirs, according to EYP Health’s lead designer on the project, Tushar Gupta. “The architectural vocabulary of the building reflects the regional vernacular and a timeless character to establish a memorable brand identity for UCHealth. The refined arc of the curved roof provides the most distinctive element of the architectural brand—an iconic, identifiable form that announces the UCHealth facility without words.”
The exterior palette of materials speaks to the Mountain West locale where residents hold a deep connection to the outdoors. Colorado Buff stone, brick and wood give the building a native materiality that grounds the structure. The sleek use of metal emphasizes the modernity of the design and signals the state-of-the-art functionality of the facility. High-performance glass in the building envelope supports energy efficiency, while offering views out and natural daylight into patient and staff areas to promote health and healing.
Regional stone and natural woods carry into the interior of the building to maintain consistency, while the strategic application of accent colors ease wayfinding. The use of warm, natural wood at key touchpoints reinforces a human connection. The sum of the interior design elements creates a “chic” lodge environment, appropriate to the Colorado setting, easily identifiable and adaptable for other facilities. UCHealth is pursuing a Silver LEED for Healthcare rating.
Other team members on the project included Haselden Construction, the general contractor supported by Affiliated Engineers Inc., Datum Engineers, Gallun Snow, BHA Design, Inc., JVA Consulting Engineers and Project One Integrated Services.
