SAN FRANCISCO — On Saturday, June 26, the new Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard in San Francisco’s Twin Peaks neighborhood, announced Benji Larance, principal of Anshen+Allen, which designed the renovation and replacement project in a joint venture with Stantec Architecture. It is the first hospital in the state to receive certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and has earned a Silver LEED rating. Mayor Gavin Newsom and Congresswoman Jackie Speier attended the ceremony.
Laguna Honda Hospital, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center owned and operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is nearing completion of 500,000 square feet of new construction and 150,000 square feet of remodeling The program includes acute general medical facilities with 30 acute care beds, a 750-bed skilled nursing facility, and a central esplanade housing a wellness and community center, aviary, library, barber shop, beauty salon, art studios, general store, gift shop and cafeteria.
The design concept was to balance tradition, warmth, and history with invention, technology, and the future. To respect the historical significance of the 150-year-old campus as a landmark in San Francisco, the two new resident buildings incorporate several traits similar to those of the campus’s original 1920s-era Spanish Revival buildings, including protected courtyards between the wings, simple punched openings in plaster walls, and animated terminations in living rooms.
The two residential towers (one seven-story on the north hill and one six-story on the south hill) are linked by a four-story pavilion building, which bridges the valley between the hilltop towers. “The pavilion is the literal and figurative bridge between past, present, and future,” says Jeff Logan, director of design at Anshen+Allen. “So we designed it with a contrasting composition and material palette that emphasizes its horizontal and linear nature, evoking its role in connecting the campus.”
The new buildings create a community within the city of San Francisco where residents can live and socialize with each other as their capabilities allow. The new front door is on the valley floor of the pavilion, where rehabilitative services greet new residents and visitors alike, emphasizing the facility’s focus on restoration and healing. On the floor directly above rehabilitative services are the bedrooms, dining rooms, and courtyards for residents who receive intensive physical therapy in one of two treatment pools or the gymnasium below. Most socialization will take place on the third level of the pavilion, known as the “esplanade,” where residents, families, staff, and visitors can enjoy a meal indoors or outside at the cafe, read a book in the library next to the fireplace, or attend a play in the 100+ person theater. 
When the design for this project was awarded over 10 years ago, the architects were asked to design a campus for 1,200 beds. “From Day One, we did not want Laguna Honda to be about 1,200 beds but about 1,200 places.,” says Sharon Woodworth, senior architect with Anshen+Allen. Even after the project was scaled back to 780 beds, the design team maintained the goal of creating a place to live, rather than an institution for housing. Bedrooms are organized into households for 15 residents; each household has its own dining and living room with residential-style bathrooms shared by one, two, or three residents in private bedroom suites or semi-private, dorm-style bedrooms. Four households on each floor create a neighborhood of 60 residents. Each resident room has its own operable window for natural ventilation. Ninety percent of regularly occupied interior spaces have windows and views to the outdoors.
The hospital is designed to use 30 percent less energy than required by the building code, with high-performance insulation and glazing and an Energy Star–rated roof. Efficient mechanical design that relies on evaporative cooling eliminated the need for cooling towers, which are typical in hospitals but consume large quantities of water. Low-flow plumbing fixtures further conserve water. Specification of materials and finishes that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds improves air quality, and the ventilation system provides 100% fresh outside air at all times.
The hospital is also significantly increasing the amount of landscaped public outdoor space by preserving existing open space and adding more than ten therapeutic gardens. An extensive public art program has been strategically planned to assist residents with wayfinding and healing.
Residents will begin to occupy the resident towers in August 2010.
About Anshen+Allen
Anshen+Allen is the largest architecture firm in the United States specializing exclusively in healthcare and academic design, with a focus on projects that benefit humanity, contribute to community and culture, and demonstrate a commitment to social progress. Founded in 1940, Anshen+Allen is now comprised of more than 150 staff in four offices: Columbus, Boston, San Francisco, and London. For more information, please visit www.anshen.com.
About Stantec Architecture
Stantec provides professional consulting services in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics for infrastructure and facilities projects. We support public and private sector clients in a diverse range of markets in the infrastructure and facilities sector at every stage, from initial concept and financial feasibility to project completion and beyond. Our services are offered through approximately 9,300 employees operating out of more than 130 locations in North America. Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN. Stantec is One Team providing Infinite Solutions.
