Colorado-based hospital system UCHealth is experiencing increased demand for services in several fast-growing communities. Faced with a tight time frame of one to three years for delivering new facilities, Sean Menogan, vice president of facilities, design and construction, determined that the optimum solution would be a small hospital designed to expand over time.

Working closely with EYP Health (Houston and Dallas), the planning team developed a prototype hospital—a “chassis” that could be site-adapted and would allow for rapid and efficient development of new facilities, saving time and money in the long run.

UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, Colo., is the first of the prototype hospitals to welcome patients, opening August 2017. It incorporates several design strategies to provide for flexibility and growth. A departmental program established standardized planning rooms and units that can be replicated and scaled, to allow for local demands, yet maintain operational workflow across the system.

Placing the public concourse at the front of the hospital and support services circulation at the center as permanent elements sets the stage for phased horizontal expansion. This strategy allows future growth of inpatient beds as well as diagnostic and support services to occur while keeping the hospital in operation and limiting disruption to patients and patient care.

Visually, the architecture of Longs Peak provides a form and materials template from which to develop future facilities. Both interior and exterior finishes represent a palette that reflects the hospital’s Front Range context. Colorado Buff stone, brick, and wood combine with sleek metal and glass, inside and out, to create a facility with a clear Colorado identity that can be readily adapted to other facilities.

The iconic arc of the curved roof serves as a recognizable, branded element that announces new UCHealth facilities throughout the region. The prototype hospital template is currently being replicated in Highlands Ranch and Greeley, Colo., which are two newly planned hospitals in the UCHealth system.

Project details
Facility name: UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital

Location (city and state): Longmont, Colo.

Completion date (month and year): August 2017

Owner: UCHealth

Total building area: 191,000 gross sq. ft.

Total construction cost: $108 million

Cost/sq. ft.: $565

Architecture firm: EYP Health

Interior design: EYP Health

Furniture and art: Gallun Snow

Engineering: AEI (MEP and lighting), Datum Engineering (structural), JVA Consulting (civil)

Construction: Haselden

Program Manager: Project One