Using Kaiser Permanente’s Total Health Environment model, we designed a continuum of care to guide recovery across three stages of the patient experience: anticipation, transition, and healing. As you approach the building, gentle curves of the entry courtyard guide patients, visitors, and staff to the facility with intuitive wayfinding. Inside the hospital, warm colors activate the space and cues from nature offer a welcoming experience.

Built to meet California’s latest, more rigorous seismic safety standards, the new 490,000-square-foot tower boasts large windows that provide abundant natural light to ease stress and support healing. We acoustically designed all patient rooms to reduce noise, and the hospital’s labor and delivery suites feature a homelike setting to comfort expectant and new mothers. We reconfigured the Emergency Department to segregate patient acuity better while creating more efficient patient and staff flow. Shifting from a traditional open nursery concept to private rooms, we developed a 28-bed NICU to provide more privacy for families. We also incorporated several sustainable design solutions, including energy-efficient lighting, electrical, air-conditioning, and plumbing systems; use of reclaimed water for cooling towers; site bio-retention basins; light-colored sustainable roofing; dual-pane exterior window glazing; and daylighting.