A pediatric outpatient tower at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, part of Rady Children’s Health, has opened. Located in Orange, California, the nine-story, 330,000-square-foot facility houses a number of pediatric outpatient services, centralizing them in one location. The project team included CannonDesign, McCarthy Building Companies and Jacobs.
Designed to complement CHOC’s Bill Holmes Tower, completed in 2012, the tower features a distinctive red and silver façade accented by dynamic lighting woven into its solar fins. The curving form of the building makes it a landmark for those driving on the adjacent freeway. A terrace on the perimeter follows the curvature of the tower, making it appear as though the landscape itself rises with the tower, and reinforcing the building’s fluid presence.
Inside, vivid and informative experiential graphics and wayfinding are infused throughout the building, many featuring CHOC’s mascot, Choco the Bear, and other elements that celebrate the institution’s “Long Live Childhood” mantra. Waiting areas are sprinkled with interactive activities designed to educate children about healthy habits and more.
Alongside the opening of the outpatient tower, CHOC opened a 24-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit and a 28-bed neuroscience unit within the Bill Holmes Tower to meet increased demand for these high-acuity services.
