Project category: New construction (completed June 2005)

Chief administrator: Michael Stoops, Project Director, (408) 236-7090

Firm: Anshen+Allen, (415) 882-9500

Design team: Zigmund Rubel, Project Director; Roger Swanson, Principal-in-Charge; Lynn Befu, Interior Architect; Wilbur Webber, Project Designer; Bruce Arsenault, Project Architect

Photography: John Edward Linden

Total building area (sq. ft.): 520,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $208

Total construction cost (excluding land): $108,000,000

The new Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Office Building is four stories and 520,000 square feet. The program provides a variety of general and specialty clinics, an outpatient procedure center, optical surgery, retail functions, and a patient and a staff education library.

The Medical Office Building is designed around a universal “functional unit module” (FUM); this design accommodates the variety of clinic types. The module consists of parallel public, exam, and private zones, with departmental waiting areas on the interior, treatment areas in the middle, and provider offices along the perimeter. Predictable layouts help patients find their way in and around the building, as well as allowing caregivers the ability to operate easily.

A variety of strategies assist patients and visitors navigating the large building and site. Entries are readily identified by common elements: a vertical stair tower, large glazed façades, and canopies at vehicle drop-off points. On the exterior, variations in building form, fenestration, and color schemes distinguish the building.

Pedestrian walks, courtyards, and a bridge connect the campus and this building to itself. To further clarify wayfinding, entry pavilions are highly visible, and all interior public circulation and waiting areas border the outdoor courtyard spaces. A clearly defined east-west circulation spine organizes and connects the entire campus and features flowering cherry trees visible from the buildings. To help visitors and staff navigate the large site, entry pavilions are highly visible, and major circulation corridors border landscaped courtyards.