Project Category – Remodel/Renovation (completed February 2001)

Facility Contact – Sheila Litrell, (650) 696-5887

Firm – Tsang Architecture, (415) 399-9302

Design Team – Ignatius Tsang, Principal-in-Charge; Carlos Alvarez, Design Director; Colin Mosher, Project Manager; Carla Culbertson, Project Architect; Roger Sayre, Project Architect

Patient/Bed Capacity – 110 to 120 patients/day

Total Building Area (sq. ft.) – 16,400 (57,500 with Medical Office Building)

Total Land Area (acres) – N/A

Total Cost – Approximately $10,000,000


The Dorothy E. Schneider CANCER CENTER for Mills Peninsula Hospital is an outpatient oncology center that provides radiation therapy and infusion treatment to patients in communities south of San Francisco. Considering the physical and psychological stress associated with a life-threatening illness, the environment seeks to be reassuring and supportive. The architecture and interior design incorporate nature, state-of-the-art equipment and efficient staff areas into the healing process.

Beginning at the sheltering tree-like entry canopies and following along the protective glass awning, guests experience the lower courtyard and the calming sights and sounds of cascading water from the fountain. This area is also viewed from the dialysis center and physicians’ lounge on the lower level. Reaching the entrance, one passes a healing garden with an intimate fountain and plants selected for their restorative natures.

In the reception lounge, materials and artwork introduce stone and plant themes that will be incorporated throughout the interior. Examination rooms and physicians’ offices are immediately adjacent to reception. Guests may proceed to the infusion or radiation therapy areas. Open nurses’ stations at the heart of each area offer a high level of interaction between staff and patients.

Large expanses of glass windows and clerestories bring natural light into the patient areas, and landscaping acts as a privacy screen. The infusion area looks out onto the healing garden and brings patients full circle to the garden they experienced from the entry courtyard. The exposed aggregate of the deep concrete walls of the radiation therapy vault are experienced from the interior and exterior and bring patients full circle to the walls visible behind the cascading waters of the entry fountain. The sense of completeness, daylight, views, beauty and calm contribute to the emotional well-being of all.

Serving the larger community, the Dorothy E. Schneider CANCER CENTER is included in the seismic retrofitting of the existing six-story building, which will house medical offices. The renovation brings new vitality to an existing urban campus, being converted from inpatient care to outpatient care.