October 6, 2022
Design can influence beyond its borders
By KRISTINA RIVERA
CollinsWoerman
Rivera |
When does a building become more than a physical space?
When its effect reaches far beyond its walls.
Uniquely located on the oxbow of the Spokane River at the gateway to GU’s campus, the University of Washington-Gonzaga University Health Partnership building is more than a physical space – it’s a catalyst for advancing rural health care education and research. locally and globally.
The 109,000-square-foot building at 840 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. is home to UW’s School of Medicine and GU’s Department of Human Physiology. Designed by architect CollinsWoerman, the four-story facility features cutting-edge distance learning classrooms, integrated faculty offices, high-tech laboratories – including a state-of-the-art anatomy suite and motion capture gait lab – as many studies. places.
The facility is a culmination of UW and GU’s Health Partnership, Emerald Initiative, and McKinstry’s vision to transform health and wellness in the region and expand access to rural health care education.
“This new building further strengthens UW’s commitment to Spokane and our health partnership with Gonzaga,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “We are proud to partner with them and clinicians across the region to train the next generation of physicians and health care providers who will provide excellent care to patients in Eastern Washington and beyond.”
In addition to being a place where students and faculty from UW and GU can collaborate and learn, the Health Partnership building serves a larger purpose — to help advance research and solutions. in health care that will give rural communities greater access to affordable, quality care.
The facility is part of the Emerald Initiative’s mission to create a medical cluster in the heart of Spokane. Emerald Initiative, an independently owned affiliate of McKinstry, envisions, develops, owns, and operates commercial real estate and alternative energy infrastructure. The organization seeks to promote medical and health education and biomedical research in Spokane to attract new industries, jobs, and investment to the area.
“We are excited to grow this industry cluster approach with the UW and GU Health Partnership,” McKinstry CEO Dean Allen said. “By leveraging the strength of Spokane’s health science community and outstanding academic programs, we will help the region remain a premier source of critical thinking, technological innovation and innovation jobs. health care.”
The new building is located just north of the historic Spokane Inland Empire Railroad (SIERR) facility to create a 145,000-square-foot hub to promote interdisciplinary health science education, research, and innovation.
IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY
The current strain on access to health care is exacerbated by the lack of medical providers in rural communities. The Washington State Department of Health reports that adults in rural communities face barriers to medical access at a higher rate than those in non-rural communities.
There is a critical need for more health care professionals to provide care in these communities, and the establishment of the Health Partnership is a leap towards providing the most needed care.
The Health Partnership builds on the UW School of Medicine’s excellence in medical education and long-term presence in Eastern Washington and GU’s deep, local roots and top-ranked undergraduate and graduate health and life science programs. Their programs are a critical pipeline for the region’s next generation of health care professionals to serve patients in surrounding communities.
“The University of Washington School of Medicine has a 50-year history of excellence in medical education in Spokane and Eastern Washington,” UW School of Medicine interim Dean and UW Medicine and interim CEO Timothy H. Dellit said. “This world-class health and medical education will ensure that UW Spokane medical students have access to a unique learning environment and the tools necessary to become the best doctors and leaders of tomorrow. This would not be possible without our valued partnership with Gonzaga and the vision of McKinstry.
DESIGN
Integration, innovation, and sustainability were CollinsWoerman’s guiding principles as it created the design for the building. It was important to keep acoustics, daylighting, and energy-efficient design solutions in mind while integrating the design of the SIERR facility and the future goal of building a health care peninsula.
A dark masonry base sets the stage for the changing color of the exterior metal panels and wide north and south curtain walls that draw light deep into the building through the combined sun shading and interior lighting shelves. A two-story green wall filled with medicinal and regional plants provides a verdant backdrop for the common area and the grand staircase leading to the main classrooms.
CollinsWoerman’s design also includes a cafe and several study areas, including study rooms, booth-style study nooks, and a south-facing third-floor terrace. floor.
The design intentionally places 50- and 100-person classrooms on the second floor and faculty offices on the third floor to bring together staff and students from each university. The fourth floor of the building is enclosed and designed to allow an additional university program, medical office, or private organization to pursue the goal of expanding the health care peninsula.
In addition to displaying a modern classic design, the building seamlessly integrates environmental sustainability into its structure and style. The ultra-efficient building uses an open-source ground heat pump that draws water from the Spokane aquifer to provide a constant water temperature that the building’s mechanical systems use to heat and cool the building.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The Health Partnership building will leave a lasting impact on the future of rural health care and will represent many things: a commitment from organizations to provide for their communities and beyond, what is possible through collaboration between public and private partnerships, and how a building can be more. rather than physical space.
“This building provides more than just a new place to attend classes,” said UW-GU Health Partnership Executive Director John Sklut. “It facilitates enhanced and flexible learning through access to the latest technology; it provides a collaborative space where collaboration is paramount; it expands educational and research opportunities with state-of-the-art lab facilities; it provides an opportunity to welcome more public or private sector entities into the business; and most importantly, it reaffirms our commitment to educating generations of health care professionals committed to serving our community.”
Kristina Rivera is the marketing coordinator at CollinsWoerman.
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