University of California, San Diego

San Diego, California
Architect: Cannon Design
Contractor: Kitchell Contractors

Project Overview:

This 12 story, 490,000 sq ft (45,000 sq m) building located on the University’s east La Jolla campus functions as three hospitals — the Cancer Hospital, the Hospital for Women and Infants, and the Hospital for Advanced Surgery.

This is the first ground-up hospital to use Performance Based Design. The building’s overall curvilinear form was driven by the design of the patient units, but also by advanced modeling to capitalize on views, maximize daylight and minimize solar gain and glare. The geometry creates a subtle continuous flowing curve of the exterior — a dynamic form that changes as one passes around the building’s perimeter.

ELEMENT provided numerous perforated and formed aluminum panels that formed a backdrop to the curtainwall glazing system designed and installed by the country’s premier curtainwall provider; Enclos Corp. These oversize panels contained a variety of perforation patterns and were finished in a Kynar PVDF paint finish.

 

LEED Certification:
  • LEED Silver
Key Contribution by ELEMENT:
  • Materials: Perforated and formed aluminum sheet.
ELEMENT Services:
  • Design Review
  • Scheduling
  • Prototyping and Samples
  • Mockups
  • Fabrication
  • Delivery
Awards:
  • Merit Award, 2016 Institutional Category Southern California Development Forum Design Awards
  • Merit Award (for Central Utility Plant), 2015 American Institute of Architects, San Diego
  • IDA Gold Award First Prize, 2014 Industrial and Life Science Design International Design Awards (IDA)
Select Publications:
  • “Jacobs Medical Center latest example of region’s hospital expansion”, 20 Nov. 2016, The San Diego Tribune
  • “UCSD Planes for Major Healthcare Projects”, 23 April 2010, School Construction News
  • “UC San Diego opens Jacobs Medical Center”, 28 Nov. 2016, University of California News
  • “UC San Diego Health to Open Jacobs Medical Center November 20, 2016”, 17 Nov. 2016, UC San Diego Health
  • “UCSD Health Unveils $943 Million Jacobs Medical Center”, 20 Nov. 2016, Times of San Diego