PROJECT CATEGORY New Construction (completed May 2000)

CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR Daryl Melvin, CEO, (928) 737-6000

FIRMS Gresham & Beach Architects, Inc., (520) 882-0698; FKW Architects, (405) 848-2297

DESIGN TEAM James A. Gresham, FAIA, Principal, Lead Designer; Richard A. Beach, AIA, Principal, Medical Planner (Gresham & Beach Architects, Inc.); Dean M. Wadley, Jr., AIA, Architect-of-Record; Jeff Wegener, Project Manager; David Kraszewski, Project Architect (FKW Architects)

PHOTOGRAPHY Douglas Kahn

BED CAPACITY 7

TOTAL BUILDING AREA (SQ. FT.) 110,000

TOTAL LAND AREA (ACRES) 189

TOTAL COST (EXCLUDING LAND) $18,000,000

The high northern Arizona desert plateau is home to the Hopi, a Pueblo people whose ancient villages are situated on three majestic mesas near the Hopi Health Care Center in Polacca.

The ambulatory care facility provides complete and technologically up-to-date primary care, including eye, dental, physical therapy, speech and audiology services, plus a birthing center and emergency, short-stay nursing, imaging, laboratory, pharmacy, dialysis, patient education and public health services

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The building is a metaphor for typical Hopi villages, facing southeast and optimizing solar orientation. It is informally composed around a linear circulation spine framed with stone walls recalling Hopi plazas. The precast concrete structure is simple and adaptable to change and growth. The building is aesthetically pleasing to those who use it, and its plan is compact, with excellent functional relationships

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The major design emphasis was on the patient’s spirit and well-being. Colors, textures and materials were chosen to reinforce feelings for the Hopi landscape, villages and culture. Controlled natural light was emphasized with light shelves that reflect light upon the wood ceilings, and with skylights that illuminate interior walls and animate clinical areas. Rustic wood entry structures evoke native building forms, completely free of institutional overtones. These structures continue to the southeast into the Healing Garden, a traditional Hopi place for quiet meditation.

The entire project has been conceived as an appropriate landmark for the Hopi and their culture, and as a thoughtful intervention in this remote and wildly beautiful setting


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