In Phoenix, the Arizona State University (ASU) has constructed its Health Futures Center—expanding the school’s impact as a research institution emphasizing medical technology acceleration and innovation, entrepreneurship, and healthcare education.
Designed by CO Architects in collaboration with DFDG Architecture, the ASU Health Futures Center is a multidisciplinary home for medical tech innovation, research, education, and conferencing. CO designed the building to allow spaces to function in multiple ways, encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations. It’s located on a newly developed site for the university’s growing biotech presence near the Mayo Clinic Phoenix.
The Health Futures Center is the first building to be constructed as part of the almost 20-year Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Alliance for Health Care collaboration. CO master-planned the new 24-acre campus on previously undeveloped desert land, then programmed and designed the three-story facility for ASU’s College of Health Solutions, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, as well as shared programs with Mayo Clinic.
The $80 million, 145,200-square-foot building includes research laboratories, simulation suites, workspaces, and instructional rooms. The light ecru exterior was designed for the desert heat, with windows angled to face northward on both the east and west facades, minimizing solar heat gain. The center offers views of the McDowell Mountains to the east and central Phoenix to the south.
The building’s conference center features a double-height auditorium with 278 fixed seats arranged in a circular configuration, with the capacity for up to 320 in an in-the-round configuration. Audio, video, and lighting elements allow patrons to view dynamic visual presentations from wherever they’re seated.
On the building team:
Owner: Arizona State University
Design architect: CO Architects
Architect of record and executive architect: DFDG Architecture
MEP engineer: Affiliated Engineers (AEI)
Structural engineer: Advances Structural Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: DPR Construction
![ASU Health Futures Center int](/sites/default/files/inline-images/ASU%20Health%20Fututres%20Center%20int.jpg)
![ASU Health Futures Center patient](/sites/default/files/inline-images/ASU%20Health%20Futures%20Center%20patient%20.jpg)
![ASU Health Center Futures meeting](/sites/default/files/inline-images/ASU%20Health%20Center%20Futures%20meeting.jpg)
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 15, 2014
Michael Graves talks with Washington Post about new design eye from life in a wheelchair
Celebrated American architect Michael Graves sits with the Washington Post to talk about how being on a wheelchair changed the way he focuses on design.
| Jul 13, 2014
Punishing deadline can’t derail this prison health facility [2014 Building Team Awards]
A massive scope, tough schedule, and technical complexity fail to daunt the Building Team for a huge California correctional project.
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 8, 2014
Fast-track naval hospital sparks sea change in project delivery [2014 Building Team Awards]
Through advanced coordination methods and an experimental contract method, the Building Team for Camp Pendleton’s new hospital campus sets a new standard for project delivery.
| Jul 7, 2014
Team unity pays off for a new hospital in Maine [2014 Building Team Awards]
Extensive use of local contractors, vendors, and laborers brings a Maine hospital project in months ahead of schedule.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 7, 2014
A climate-controlled city is Dubai's newest colossal project
To add to Dubai's already impressive portfolio of world's tallest tower and world's largest natural flower garden, Dubai Holding has plans to build the world's largest climate-controlled city.
| Jul 2, 2014
The doctor is in the firehouse: New clinic to be built in California fire station
Designed by WRNS Studio, the Firehouse Clinic will encourage local residents with limited healthcare access to consider them as an alternative to the emergency room, especially for preventive care.