The Downey Medical Center is a medical campus that will consist of a new 352-bed hospital and two medical office buildings. Taking advantage of its adjacency to an existing primary care facility, the two facilities together will create a comprehensive care facility and share security, parking, dining, and administrative areas.

The unifying element of this project’s design is a central spine. This spine, or concourse, will organize new and existing facilities as it spans existing clinics, the new plaza, parking structure, and gardens, then arrives at the entry to the new medical center, and comes to an end at the emergency department drop-off.

Project category: Project in progress/On the board (October 2005 [Medical Office Building 1]; July 2008 [Medical Office Building 2 and Hospital])

Chief administrator: Gerald McCall, Sr., Vice-President and Service Area Manager, Tri Central Service Area, (562) 622-4254

Firm: HMC Architects, (909) 980-8058

Design team: Robert Kain, AIA, Chairman of the Board, Principal-in-Charge; Robert Hoskins, AIA, Associate, Project Director; Mark Schoeman, AIA, Senior Associate, Senior Designer; Laura Amiri, AIA, Senior Associate, Senior Medical Planner; Hedy Fintescu, Associate, Project Manager, Medical Office Building 1 & 2

Illustration: Klyde Wilson, HMC Architects

Total building area (GSF): 960,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $250 (Hospital); $160 (Medical Office Buildings)

Total cost (excluding land): Not released

All visitor and public facilities—such as pharmacies, entries, imaging, clinical lab, member services, elevators, gift shop, and cafeteria—will be located along the central concourse. The ease of navigation afforded by the concourse is intended to minimize the maze of corridors typical of such facilities.

Natural light is an important element of the concourse design. Oriented to capture natural lighting throughout the day, the concourse will open to the lower-floor cafeteria located at the center of the new hospital. Creating an exciting and pleasant environment for visitors, patients, and staff, the hospital’s main entrance will be further tied to the public realm through its adjacency to a sunken garden and outdoor patio areas.