Project category: New construction (completed January 2007)

Chief administrator: John Rich, Vice-President, Intermountain Medical Center, (801) 442-2889

Firm: Anshen+Allen, (415) 281-5404

Design team: Roger Swanson, ACHA, AIA, Principal-in-Charge; Herb Moussa, AIA, Project Manager; Lynn Befu, AIA, IIDA, Interior Architect; Nathan Murray, AIA, Designer/Planner/Project Architect; Alison Blessing, IIDA, Interior Designer; Maya Wahyudharma, Landscape Architect

Photography: David Wakely Photography

Total building area (sq. ft.): 49,638

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $201

Total construction cost (excluding land): $10,000,000

The Huntsman Cancer Center is one of five “pillars of excellence” on the Intermountain Medical Center campus. Its design is centered on the patient’s journey to recovery. Through design elements that mitigate stress, celebrate life, and give privacy, control, and comfort back to the patient, the center creates an environment that alleviates the difficulty of the path back to health.

At the entrance, the resource library and “living room” set the tone for the welcoming and soothing environment that draws the patient in by creating an intimate hearth, complete with a modern glass-encased fireplace and leather sofas. The adjoining resource library, with a full array of cancer information, encourages patients to research their cancer in an environment where their privacy and dignity are safeguarded, allowing them to feel a sense of greater control over their health and recovery.

Treatment rooms house the latest technology while mitigating patient anxiety and discomfort. The array of equipment typical of a linear accelerator room is completely integrated into the woodwork, where sliding and hinged panels and compartments mask the full complement of lasers and accessories. Patient amenities include fully dimmable light, a digital audio system, and a generous grooming mirror.

At the heart of the facility, a Japanese-inspired healing garden encircled by local sandstone stands as a positive reaffirmation of nature’s renewal and the blossoming of life. With views available from the resource library, the radiation therapy waiting area, and the gowned waiting area, the garden offers positive distraction and hope.