Healthcare Design - December 2017 - 52

REMODEL/RENOVATION COMPETITION
R EA DERS ' CHOICE
P UBLIC SPA CE S

UC Irvine Medical Center:
Chao Comprehensive
Digestive Disease Center
Orange, Calif.
S UBMITTED BY P E R K I N S E A S T M A N * L O S A N G E L E S

BEFORE

J U RY C O M M E N T S :

D ESIG N TEAM:

Perkins Eastman
(planner and
architect); Pickett
Designs (interior
designer); Degenkolb
Engineers (structural
engineer); HuittZollars (civil
engineer); TMAD
Taylor & Gaines (MEP
engineer); Rabben/
Herman Design Office
(landscape architect)
CO ST PER
SQ UAR E FO OT:

$495
PHO TO S (AFTER ):

ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED as a 12,000-square-foot
interior remodel within an existing, three-story
tiered building, the Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center (Orange, Calif.) is now
a prominent gateway building that defines the
southern edge of UC Irvine Medical Center's
campus core.
Adding much-needed additional clinical
and support space, the expanded building
includes a new entrance lobby, registration
area, and waiting area on the first floor of
the building. Previous reception and waiting
space was converted into lecture and classroom space to support the teaching functions
of the service line. The second floor is the new
procedural hub of the department and houses both procedure and recovery space. The
third-floor addition and renovation provides
expanded clinical functions and adds muchneeded staff offices and support space.
The new design of the procedure suites and
prep and recovery areas provides two key benefits to staff and patients. The clinical staff benefits from the latest imaging and diagnostic

D E C E M B E R 2 01 7 / S U P P L E M E N T T O H E A LT H C A R E D E S I G N

* The addition
significantly improved
the entrance to the
facility from the exterior
and the interior.
* The daylight in the
large multistory
waiting area is
impressive. The
introduction of
useable outdoor
space with the exterior
terrace completes
the connection to the
outdoors started with
the wood tones and
floating cloud ceiling
pendants.
* Major renovation
added new quality
space with extensive
daylight, access to
nature, and respite
spaces.

technologies in the new procedure rooms, which
are about 1.5 times the size and infrastructure
of the previous rooms. Patients now experience
complete privacy in their prep and recovery,
spaces which before, in the previous facility,
were separated only by curtains. Patients also
benefit from the expansion of the clinic on the
third floor to provide more convenient one-stop
service for their doctor visits and procedures.
Throughout all phases of design, the architectural team worked closely with the client and
many levels of the organization to develop a highly functional and progressive design. Through a
variety of meetings and design charrettes with
hospital administration, physician/clinical
leadership, nursing, registration, lab, pathology,
housekeeping, IT, and sterile processing, the detailed needs of the facility were determined, and
the design flowed from there. Patient input into
the needs of the design was solicited through the
physicians in clinic administration. Philanthropic and donor interactions also affected the direction and vision for the project as a world-class
outpatient center and teaching facility.
The biggest challenge for the project was the
increase in project scope to provide a new thirdfloor clinic. This space required a new building
structure married to a smaller existing third
floor. The challenge arose from the limited budget that was approved based on a smaller scope.
The physicians, however, had a grander vision.
Working with their leadership, the design team
developed conceptual models and renderings
that allowed them to find major donors and help
to fully fund the project.

BEFORE

Healthcare Design - December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - December 2017