Among the first projects completed according to the most recent California seismic legislation, this five-story addition and expansion for the Little Company of Mary Hospital contains the Main Lobby, Waiting Areas, Emergency Department, Pharmacy, Critical Care, Labor/Delivery/Recovery, and two Medical/Surgical Units.

The facility reflects the Medical Center’s vision for family-centered care and physical and emotional healing through use of natural light and materials, and human-scaled spaces. The project was developed to provide growth for hospital services and to reflect the hospital’s vision of blending state-of-the-art medicine and a true healing environment.

The apparent scale of the building is reduced through a slate-tile base, separated from the upper floors, which are clad in precast concrete, implying a four-story structure instead of five. The cost-effective concrete ensures continuity with the existing concrete. Generously sized windows in patient rooms and other key areas allow natural lighting and provide maximum views. Patient-floor corridors are shaped and finished to create a less institutional feel.

Meditative gardens provide quiet spaces, while a waterfall cascades to a pool in the Main Lobby. Natural wood ceilings in the South Tower Addition—a first in a California hospital facility—and thematic artwork support a culture of dignity, care, and the religious mission of the hospital.

The new two-story, light-filled Main Lobby provides visual and spatial connections between floors, overlooking the campus landscape. Its design is in keeping with the contemporary character of adjacent buildings and is a symbol for technical competency of medical care. Its interior enhances waiting areas at each floor with views to the outdoors. The primary public entrance to the Main Lobby includes a covered automobile drop-off connected by a covered walkway, providing the public with a clear sense of destination at the first floor and spatial interconnection with the floors above.

Project category: New construction & Remodel/Renovation (completed March 2002)

Chief administrator: Mark Costa, COO, (310) 543-5868

Firm: KMD, (415) 398-5191

Design team: Jim Diaz, FAIA, Principal; Mohinder Datta, AIA, Principal; Rob Matthew, AIA, Director; Ken Coldwell, Director; Elaine Pavia, Project Manager

Photography: Jeff Goldberg/Esto; Larry Hawley

Total building area (GSF): 123,600

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $365

Total cost (excluding land): $37,500,000 (new); $5,500,000 (renovation)

The need for clear organization, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness shaped the development of the five-floor South Tower concept. Acuity-adaptable patient rooms share a standardized width and stacked patient bathrooms at the perimeter. Today, these maximize efficiency and effectiveness, with the ability to transform all rooms to critical care for enhanced patient access and observation in the future.

The Emergency Department has an array of open-bay exam positions, quick-care positions, enclosed exam rooms, observation positions, resuscitation, orthopedic and x-ray rooms, and support/administrative space. Reconfigured site contours provide access and visibility for the Emergency walk-in and Ambulance entrances and associated parking.

The Critical Care Service consists of closed, critical care rooms; larger cardiac care rooms; open-bay critical positions; step-down rooms; and support/administrative space. Patient rooms are organized into four 5,000-square-foot modules (Special Use Areas), eliminating the need for rated corridors within each module.

The Labor/Delivery Department contains 22 Single-Room Maternity Care (SRMC) rooms, two C-Section rooms, an eight-bed well-baby nursery, and support space. One of the SRMC rooms is specially sized and configured to accommodate multiple births.

The Medical/Surgical units, located on the first and fourth floors, provide a total of 52 private rooms, 10 semiprivate rooms, and support space.