The University of Minnesota alumni account for more than 70% of that state’s health professionals. To help prepare the next generation, the university’s Twin Cities campus recently debuted its Health Sciences Education Center, a hub for UM’s health professional schools, and designed to promote interprofessional education and interaction that prioritizes student and faculty well-being.
The 202,000-sf Education Center is positioned to be one of the more comprehensive interprofessional facilities in the country. The project entailed six stories of new construction, and four stories of renovation of an adjacent building. The two structures are connected by portals on four floors.
“The new Health Sciences Education Center is much more than a building; it is a catalyst for change as we prepare the next generation of health care professionals,” says Mark Rosenberg, MD, Vice Dean for education and academic affairs in the Medical School.
Early examples of the Center’s multipurpose utility and transformative potential were evident last summer, when HSEC was used in collaboration with the School of Public Health, Medical School and the Medical Reserve Corps to assist the Minnesota Department of Health in COVID-19 contact tracing. M Simulation—a university team that designs and delivers training experiences for health science students and other stakeholders—also used HSEC’s spaces to train incoming residents and students on personal protective equipment in clinical environments.
REAL-LIFE TRAINING IS PART OF PROGRAMMING
The new HSEC has space for small and large group learning and instruction. Images: Lara Swimmer
The new HSEC includes:
Center for Health Interprofessional Programs, which connects health professions students from varying disciplines, allowing them to collaborate, network, socialize, and learn;
Biomedical Library and Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, which connects students to healthcare’s history and opportunities for invention and product development that might define the industry’s future, including a makerspace and virtual reality studio;
Simulation Labs on two floors that connect students to the patient experience and the reality of working alongside their interdisciplinary peers. Jakub Tolar, Dean of UM’s Medical School and Vice President of its Office of Academic Clinical Affairs, explains that these labs help prepare students for real-life medical events and crisis, for which “you have to train yourself, almost like an athlete.”
The S/L/A/M Collaborative and Perkins and Will were co-design architects on HSEC. SLAM led this project’s program validation, utilization analysis, building planning, and the documentation of all classrooms, immersive learning environments, and administrative spaces. Perkins and Will, as AOR, provided the exterior and massing design, interior finishes and furniture selection, and public/social space documentation. The Building Team included JE Dunn (GC), IMEG (MEPF), Palanisami & Associates (SE), EVS Inc. (CE), and Sextant (AV consultant).
IN WITH THE NEW
The building's lobbies (above) have lots of seating and natural light. The Center's library features makerspaces and virtual studios. Images: Lara Swimmer, SLAM
HSEC, which broke ground in February 2018, replaces a four-story brick structure, called the VFW Cancer Research Center and Masonic Memorial Building, that was completed in 1957. The renovated space in the Phillips Wangersteen Building replaces underutilized clinics.
The State of Minnesota invested $66.7 million in construction as part of its 2017 special session bonding bill. The University, along with support from donors, funded an additional $33.3 million in construction costs. Predesign and design from reallocated TCF Bank Stadium bond proceeds totaled $8.6 million. The total cost of the project is $108.6 million, according to the university.
Related Stories
| Apr 17, 2012
FMI report examines federal construction trends
Given the rapid transformations occurring in the federal construction sector, FMI examines the key forces accelerating these changes, as well as their effect on the industry.
| Apr 16, 2012
University of Michigan study seeks to create efficient building design
The result, the researchers say, could be technologies capable of cutting the carbon footprint created by the huge power demands buildings place on the nation’s electrical grid.
| Apr 16, 2012
UNT lab designed to study green energy technologies completed
Lab to test energy technologies and systems in order to achieve a net-zero consumption of energy.
| Apr 13, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new music building for Northwestern
The showcase facility is the recital hall, an intimate, two-level space with undulating walls of wood that provide optimal acoustics and lead to the stage, as well as a 50-foot-high wall of cable-supported, double-skin glass
| Apr 11, 2012
C.W. Driver completes Rec Center on CSUN campus
The state-of-the-art fitness center supports university’s goal to encourage student recruitment and retention.
| Mar 28, 2012
Holden Cancer Center opens at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The new cancer clinic provides a significant increase in patient space from the prior facility, which was located in an adjacent building.
| Mar 28, 2012
Tsoi/Kobis & Associates developing master plan for UT Southwestern Medical Center
Firm will spearhead strategies for transforming existing in-patient hospital into state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility.
| Mar 27, 2012
Groundbreaking held for Valencia College West Campus Building 10 in Orlando
Project led by design-build team of SchenkelShultz Architecture and McCree General Contractors, both of Orlando.
| Mar 26, 2012
McCarthy tops off Math and Science Building at San Diego Mesa College
Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will provide new educational space for students pursuing degree and certificate programs in biology, chemistry, physical sciences and mathematics.
| Mar 21, 2012
Iowa’s Mercy Medical Center’s new Emergency Department constructed using Lean design
New Emergency Department features a "racetrack" design with a central nurses' station encircled by 19 private patient examination rooms and 2 trauma treatment rooms.
