Project category: Project in progress (June 2007)

Chief administrator: John Hicks, President, (303) 637-1017

Firms: WHR Architects, Inc., (713) 665-5665; Fentress Bradburn Architects, (303) 722-5000

Design team: Gus Blanco, AIA, ACHA, Project Manager; Anthony Haas, AIA, ACHA, Senior Medical Planner; Gail Burns, IIDA, Interior Designer (WHR Architects, Inc.); Ron Booth, AIA, Project Designer (Fentress Bradburn Architects); Jon Ouellette, Landscape Designer (InsightDesign)

Illustration: Ron Johnson

Total building area (sq. ft.): 228,982

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $248

Total construction cost (excluding land): $56,697,850

The Platte Valley Medical Center replacement campus is designed to accommodate a 250-bed hospital and three medical office buildings with required parking spaces. Phase I will consist of a 228,982-square-foot hospital and a 55,000-square-foot MOB.

The design/planning effort started with a “Design University” exercise in educating the client and user groups regarding design phases, tools used, and the expected product, as well as the responsibilities and contributions expected of team members. Benchmarking tours to several healthcare facilities in the Denver area were conducted to identify design/functional issues for consideration going into master planning and design. Visioning sessions in which the design team facilitated a client discussion on an early vision for the project helped shape the master planning effort, which was followed by gaming, leading up to the design work sessions.

The client requested that the designers use culturally appropriate materials throughout the project, as well as incorporate simple elegance that encompasses feelings of a warm, welcoming, and comfortable atmosphere. The project has proven to be budget driven, and cost consciousness is a key factor on a daily basis. Designers integrated exterior and interior materials, which optimized a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains—a design detail that will certainly speak to the community.

The replacement campus is planned to open in 2007 with a total of 98 beds, including 28 Med/Surg/Peds, 20 Postpartum, 6 LDR, 8 CCU, and 8 Telemetry beds. The project is currently beginning construction.