Located in the heart of the UC San Diego Health’s campus in La Jolla, Calif, the Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion follows an “all-in-one” approach to offer multidisciplinary specialists and comprehensive services for convenient patient care in one facility. The design team, including CO Architects (Los Angeles), examined extensive data to define a flexible, appropriately sized program that considers the whole patient, delivers a continuum of care, and enhances and streamlines the visitor experience from arrival to departure.
The 156,000-square-foot, $140-million facility, which opened in June 2018, is an infill building that supports the adjacent Jacobs Medical Center and serves as the culmination of a multiyear expansion and development phase for the campus. The new four-story facility houses an ambulatory surgery center with eight operating rooms, an outpatient radiology center serving the entire campus, rehabilitation facilities, and a pharmacy, as well as a variety of specialty services, such as musculoskeletal health, breast health, urology, pain, apheresis, stem cell transplants, and related imaging services.
A courtyard frames the main entry to the facility, while other sides of the building respond to their adjacent contexts. Exterior materials, consisting of vertically oriented corrugated metal panels, were chosen to mimic La Jolla’s landscape of sandy bluffs and former farmlands and maintain an off-the-shelf agrarian feeling. The east and west façades were designed to minimize excessive heat gain and glare with strategically punched openings for light.
The pavilion comprises two masses connected by a public spine, with each mass split by a three-story light well. The public spine responds to the campus’ existing pedestrian pathways and contains public spaces, including patient reception and waiting areas. The wells, illuminated by skylights, serve as the heart of the clinic and house a collaborative work zone.
Clinics are organized as modules and typically contain 12 exam room pods with separate patient and staff circulation zones to allow for a more personal treatment experience. Support and treatment areas can be shared between adjacent clinics, significantly reducing the building’s square footage while encouraging interdisciplinary interaction.
The floors are efficiently stacked to centralize and integrate outpatient services, from surgical and interventional components to diagnostics and physical therapy. CO Architects conceived each floor with a distinct identity to aid in wayfinding by integrating signage and intuitive color cues that reference natural elements, such as grass green in the basement to sunny shades of yellow on the upper floors. Other interior finishes, such as patterned wall tiles, neutral terrazzo floors, and inset carpet-like flooring, lend texture and softness while meeting the durability requirements of a healthcare environment.
Targeting LEED Gold certification, the pavilion is designed to outperform California Energy Code by more than 30 percent. The building incorporates features to minimize energy consumption by maximizing daylight, which penetrates deeply into the floor plates through high-performance glass in each wing. Artificial lighting loads are reduced by efficient LED fixtures.
Project details:
Facility name: Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion
Location: La Jolla, Calif.
Completion date: June 2018
Owner: UC San Diego Health
Total building area: 156,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $140 million
Architect/Interior Designer: CO Architects
General Contractor: Rudolph & Sletten
Structural Engineer: KPFF
MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
Civil Engineer: Snipes Dye Associates
Landscape Architect: Spurlock Landscape Architects
