UCSF Precision Cancer Medicine Building Integrates Research, Clinical Care

The University of California-San Francisco’s new Bakar Precision Cancer Medicine Building recently opened. The facility is the latest addition to the UCSF Mission Bay medical campus, which includes UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, UCSF Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital and UCSF Bakar Cancer Hospital. Stantec provided design, programming and served as the integrated design delivery partner for the project. Rudolf & Sletten served as the general contractor.

The 170,000-square-foot cancer hospital contains 120 rooms for exams and consultations, 47 infusion bays for chemotherapy and 19 types of imaging services. The facility also includes 20 consultation rooms for supportive programs. PCMB features a patient resource center with rooms for support groups, exercise classes, physical therapy, financial counseling and yoga.

The facility layout is driven by four key design principles—precision, transparency, integration and activation, which Stantec wove throughout the interior and exterior of the building:

• Precision: A fusion of precision and warmth through the combination of glass and metal in a fluid coupling. Windows and walls create angles that guide the eye, offering an intuitive sense of how the building operates.
• Transparency: Patients and passersby can see in and out of PCMB, demystifying the building and humanizing cancer treatment.
• Integration: The building design strives to unify the patient experience. PCMB completes the sequence of movement across Mission Bay clinical areas and offers ease of access for those arriving on public transit.
• Activation: The building is visually accessible to the surrounding community allowing an understanding of the care provided within. The design includes subtle, angling walls that create a more generous public domain, with an overhang to provide shelter at some entrances.

Photos courtesy of David Wakely.