The new Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, spanning roughly 275,000 sf over 15 acres, is one of the largest veteran care facilities in the U.S. The facility will serve half a million patient visits a year and house multispecialty and telehealth clinics, an education center, pathology, and imaging services.
The five-story structure hosts one of the largest outpatient mental health clinics in the area, providing counseling and specialty mental health services. Floors three, four, and five feature an innovative planning approach for the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) module, which can accommodate 72 PACT teams that have access to 180 exam rooms. Efficiently laid out clinical space through the PACT module’s on- and off-stage model protects patient privacy, promotes intuitive wayfinding, allows providers to spend more time with patients, and minimizes staff and patient fatigue.
The building’s design incorporates extensive daylighting features such as lightwells in darker parts of the facility, panoramic views of the Arizona mountains, and access to green space and outdoor activities to create a relaxing environment for veterans and their families. Interior design features reflect Arizona’s vibrant colors and geological formations, such as deep fissures carved into the façades and roof that imitate the rugged terrain.
Due to the hot desert climate location, sustainability was a priority. VA Phoenix incorporates high-performance glazing and perforated, adjustable solar panels that reduce glare and heat from the Arizona sun while lowering energy costs. The design achieved Two Green Globes certification.
Amenities include a full kitchen and canteen for staff and patients on the first floor. Architects Hoefer Welker have designed more than 30 VA facilities to reflect veterans’ health needs, including common areas, easy navigation, and an overall focus on healing and hospitality, according to a news release.
“VA projects are very unique because they’re centered around a mission to give back to the veteran community, which has very specific healthcare needs,” said Hosam Habib, AIA, Hoefer Welker partner and director of design.
On the building team:
Owner and/or developer: U.S. Federal Properties (USFP)
Design architect: Hoefer Welker
MEP engineer: Smith & Boucher
Structural engineer: Bob D. Campbell & Co.
General contractor/construction manager: Jacobsen Construction
Related Stories
| Jan 31, 2011
CISCA releases White Paper on Acoustics in Healthcare Environments
The Ceilings & Interior Systems Construction Association (CISCA) has released an extensive white paper “Acoustics in Healthcare Environments” for architects, interior designers, and other design professionals who work to improve healthcare settings for all users. This white paper serves as a comprehensive introduction to the acoustical issues commonly confronted on healthcare projects and howbest to address those.
| Jan 27, 2011
Perkins Eastman's report on senior housing signals a changing market
Top international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce that the Perkins Eastman Research Collaborative recently completed the “Design for Aging Review 10 Insights and Innovations: The State of Senior Housing” study for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The results of the comprehensive study reflect the changing demands and emerging concepts that are re-shaping today’s senior living industry.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Research center built for interdisciplinary cooperation
The Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, in Houston, the first basic research institute for childhood neurological diseases, is a 13-story twisting tower in the center of the hospital campus.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
| Jan 19, 2011
New Fort Hood hospital will replace aging medical center
The Army Corps of Engineers selected London-based Balfour Beatty and St. Louis-based McCarthy to provide design-build services for the Fort Hood Replacement Hospital in Texas, a $503 million, 944,000-sf complex partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The firm plans to use BIM for the project, which will include outpatient clinics, an ambulance garage, a central utility plant, and three parking structures. Texas firms HKS Architects and Wingler & Sharp will participate as design partners. The project seeks LEED Gold.
| Jan 10, 2011
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group: ‘There’s a significant pent-up demand for projects’
Michael J. Alter, president of The Alter Group, a national corporate real estate development firm headquartered in Skokie, Ill., on the growth of urban centers, project financing, and what clients are saying about sustainability.
| Dec 17, 2010
ARRA-funded Navy hospital aims for LEED Gold
The team of Clark/McCarthy, HKS Architects, and Wingler & Sharp are collaborating on the design of a new naval hospital at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. The $451 million project is the largest so far awarded by the U.S. Navy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 500,000-sf, 67-bed hospital, to be located on a 70-acre site, will include facilities for emergency and primary care, specialty care clinics, surgery, and intensive care. The Building Team is targeting LEED Gold.
| Dec 17, 2010
Arizona outpatient cancer center to light a ‘lantern of hope’
Construction of the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Ariz., is under way. Located on the Banner Gateway Medical Center campus near Phoenix, the three-story, 131,000-sf outpatient facility will house radiation oncology, outpatient imaging, multi-specialty clinics, infusion therapy, and various support services. Cannon Design incorporated a signature architectural feature called the “lantern of hope” for the $90 million facility.
| Oct 18, 2010
World’s first zero-carbon city on track in Abu Dhabi
Masdar City, the world’s only zero-carbon city, is on track to be built in Abu Dhabi, with completion expected as early as 2020. Foster + Partners developed the $22 billion city’s master plan, with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Aedas, and Lava Architects designing buildings for the project’s first phase, which is on track to be ready for occupancy by 2015.
