SAN DIEGO — A new medical office building designed as a gateway building to the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) Health Sciences and Medical Center has opened its doors to doctors and staff. Built by C.W. Driver, which led the design-build team that included Gensler as the architect and Miyamoto International as the structural engineer, the building provides much needed office space in a convenient location adjacent to medical facilities such as the Thornton Hospital and Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center.
The team was also able to achieve LEED® Silver certification on the building, supporting UCSD’s vision of requiring all campus projects to achieve that rating level. Another achievement was allowing the campus to remain open throughout the construction period.
“Now more than ever is it important for campus projects to be delivered on time, on budget, and with limited disruptions to the surrounding operational facilities,” says C.W. Driver Project Manager Garrett Wilson. “By addressing this challenge early on and frequently communicating with UCSD, our design-build team worked closely together to take the design to the fullest extent within a specified budget, which allowed for our team to achieve a wonderful facility for UCSD that will be celebrated for years to come.”
Tucked behind UCSD’s Thornton Hospital, the $25 million, 75,000-square-foot building features office and meeting spaces on all three levels, while the main floor includes exam rooms and a café. The new medical office space will hold a first floor Clinical and Translational Research Institute consisting of exam rooms, pharmacy, treatment rooms, blood draw rooms and related support areas including waiting rooms, restrooms, a reception area and more. The new facility will improve efficiency and enhance collaboration by consolidating related research and associated staff that were previously scattered among several on- and off-campus locations, in one building.
Through the creative use of various materials utilized during the construction process, such as form liners, numerous sandblast textures and changes in plane wall panels, a very classic and timeless look was achieved, which is consistent with the high architectural standard established on the campus and without paying a premium for more expensive materials.