Missouri isn’t the only state with a new medical center designed to address the shortage of healthcare professionals, as the University of Kansas Medical Center recently opened the Health Education Building with the same goal in mind.
The Health Education Building is a four-story, 171,000-sf building designed by Co Architects and Helix Architecture that includes high-tech simulation environments and flexible learning studios. Large-scale teaching studios and clinical skills and simulation labs support active, team-based learning.
Photo courtesy of KUMC.
Two 225-person interactive studios are separated by an operable partition that can be removed to create one column-free 11,000-sf event space. The studios and labs “float” within the outer glass façade of the building to show off the core of the building’s curriculum to the public.
From the outside, the building’s design uses a transparent “lantern” box design. The ample use of glass allows students to receive natural daylight and provides them with exterior views.
The Health Education Building’s design also called for an on-grade parking lot to be changed into a 22,000-sf green courtyard and a 17,000-sf vegetated roof with access. The irrigation system for these features uses condensate water from the building’s mechanical system.
Photo courtesy of KUMC.
A 250-foot-long glass-enclosed bridge passes through the center of the Health Education Building and connects it to existing buildings on the Kansas City campus. The bridge links the campus into a loop that provides 6,000 sf of lounge, meeting, and student activity space.
The Health Education Building was designed with flexibility in mind and can accommodate a 25% class size increase over its current enrollment.
Photo courtesy of KUMC.
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 19, 2015
5 brand-building strategies in the outpatient environment
No longer coasting off of reputation, leading organizations are using new ambulatory care centers to re-brand for the future of healthcare, writes CannonDesign's Jocelyn Stroupe.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 18, 2015
Transforming the patient-clinician experience in retail healthcare: 5 'flips' to consider
Flip the Clinic is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation project invented to transform the patient-clinician experience. In their language, “flips” are actionable ideas for change, writes Gensler's Tama Duffy Day.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 75 Healthcare Construction Firms
Turner, McCarthy, and Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest healthcare contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 80 Healthcare Engineering Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and Burns & McDonnell top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest healthcare engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 115 Healthcare Architecture Firms
HDR, Stantec, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest healthcare architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
HEALTHCARE AEC GIANTS: Hospital and medical office construction facing a slow but steady recovery
Construction of hospitals and medical offices is expected to shake off its lethargy in 2015 and recover modestly over the next several years, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Contractors | Jul 29, 2015
Consensus Construction Forecast: Double-digit growth expected for commercial sector in 2015, 2016
Despite the adverse weather conditions that curtailed design and construction activity in the first quarter of the year, the overall construction market has performed extremely well to date, according to AIA's latest Consensus Construction Forecast.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 23, 2015
David Adjaye unveils design for pediatric cancer treatment center in Rwanda
The metallic, geometric façade is based on the region’s traditional Imigongo art.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 22, 2015
Best of healthcare design: 8 projects win AIA National Healthcare Design Awards
Montalba Architects' prototype mobile dental unit and Westlake Reed Leskosky's modern addition to the Cleveland Clinic Brunswick Family Health Center highlight the winning projects.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 8, 2015
From Subway to Walgreens, healthcare campuses embrace retail chains in the name of patient convenience
Most retail in healthcare discussions today are focused on integrating ambulatory care into traditional retail settings. Another trend that is not as well noted is the migration of retailers onto acute care campuses, writes CBRE Healthcare's Craig Beam.