UC Medical Center, Main Entrance Renovation

Project Narrative

In Science Lives Hope. This is a core belief at UC Health. Nationally ranked as one of the country’s top hospitals, UC Health is also the region’s only Level 1 trauma care center. By surfacing life’s essential building blocks—the hidden textures, lines, and symmetries that can’t be detected by the human eye alone—we helped UC Health physically express their unique brand, their culture of hope, and the power of academic medicine.

A distinctive new entrance canopy clearly defines the campus’ front door, and is highly visible from the street, from which it is set back. The canopy’s angled fins were applied at varied spacing and depths to create texture and capture the light in different ways as it changes throughout the day and season. The fin system was designed to minimize the need for custom parts and on-site labor for installation.

The project improved the entry sequence for people: Moving the information desk closer to the entry made it more visible; the ceiling fin pattern above the desk evokes the entry canopy and the prominent red wall (UC’s primary brand color) create strong visual cues for a key destination.

The updated interior lobby helps better express UC Health's brand: Inspired by the client's tagline, "In Science Lives Hope," we used the concept of "Science as Texture," to represent the client's brand. The concept goes beyond simple graphic representation of the client’s brand and logo and uses architecture, authentic materials, and color strategy throughout the renovation to help ease traffic, calm distractions, create visual hierarchy, and clarify wayfinding as people arrive, orient themselves, and transition to their next destination. Red is used for major moments, with hits of green and blue to punctuate waiting and registration areas. Registration bays are canted to be visible but also maintain privacy.

A grand stair, adjacent to registration and waiting encourages movement, echoes the vertical fin pattern at the entry canopy and information desk, and provides choice in where to wait with mezzanine seating and workspace.

                                           

Project Details

Submission Category

Building Architecture- Large Scale (>10,000 sf)

Date of Completion

August, 2022