Exemplifying UCI Health’s Mission of “Discover. Teach. Heal.” – Explore the New UCI Health – Irvine Medical Center
The new, sophisticated UCI Health — Irvine medical center honors UCI Health's mission in every aspect of its design. The project includes an OSHPD-3 cancer and ambulatory care center that is interconnected with the new 144-bed, OSHPD-1 specialty hospital. The medical center brings together a diverse mix of specialties and treatment programs, all united by a commitment to improving healing through design. Set along the edge of the protected San Joaquin Marsh, UCI Health – Irvine was strategically designed to capture restorative views of nature. As the first all-electric hospital in the nation, this campus redefines what is possible in sustainable design in healthcare.
Integrated Outdoor Space
The campus is organized around the marsh itself. Patients are welcomed to the medical center with a variety of outdoor amenities. An events plaza transitions from the building entries to the marsh edge, where healing gardens, a meditation garden, yoga spaces and gathering areas extend the therapeutic environment beyond the building walls. Expansive outdoor spaces offer opportunities for patients, healthcare providers and the public access to the healing power of nature.
Future paths and stairs will connect to Naturescape, a planned landscape that will link the healthcare campus to UCI’s academic campus and eventually to the ocean through trails with marsh vistas. These ecological, experiential and operational moves demonstrate that the highest design ambition in healthcare is the integration of these values into a seamless whole.
Design for Healing
The connection to the healing potential of nature does not end with the outdoor amenities. Patients enter through double-height lobbies with extensive glazing and welcoming interiors. Strategic glazing offers views of the landscape and the interior design elements take cues from the surrounding environment.
Organized to maximize daylight, views and intuitive adjacencies, the medical center reduces stress for patients, families and staff. All patient rooms orient toward the preserve, offering healing views. Patient rooms enhance comfort and control through integrated lighting, temperature and shading systems.
Bold Operational Innovation for Treatment Efficiency
The "megafloor," a unified inpatient and outpatient surgical platform, offers an innovative planning strategy for efficient treatment, creating a seamless experience for patients and treatment providers alike. This space includes 21 operating rooms spanning two buildings and two jurisdictions. This single interventional floor achieved 76% OR utilization within six months of opening. This solution increases clinical resilience and enables more sustainable surgical operations.
Carefully planning for imaging spaces also supports wellness and maximizes treatment efficiency. These spaces are usually isolated from other services to mitigate noise, vibration and magnetic forces, and enhance the quality of MRI imaging. At UCI, patients experience imaging in a consolidated space on the main entry floor, making it an easy first stop. This optimizes workflow while offering unencumbered, calming views of the nature preserve.
Marsh-Inspired Design
The architectural expression of UCI Health - Irvine echoes the marsh's horizontal layering through deliberate stratification of form and material. The base consists of the garden level, events plaza, and first floor, and uses stone and concrete to anchor the buildings to the site. Horizontal copper accents add warmth and reflectivity, subtly shifting with daylight conditions.
The "ground-to-sky" palette encodes the landscape in the architecture and promotes wayfinding as patients navigate the medical center. In the elevator lobbies, colored glass etchings of marsh flora and fauna represent the ecosystem just beyond the glass.
Prioritizing Staff Wellness
For staff, the design is equally committed to wellbeing. Staff are prioritized through efficient clinical layouts and spaces for rest and mental reset. A dedicated staff floor with a terrace enables access to the outdoors, while strategically placed windows offer views of the surrounding landscape. Lavender rooms in each patient unit with unobstructed nature views provide much-needed spaces for staff to find respite. Robust collaborative work cores also promotes staff wellbeing.
A Sustained Connection to the Outdoors
Outdoor access extends throughout the hospital and ACC. Infusion can take place on a connected outdoor terrace, bringing fresh air and breezes to long treatments. Staff and patients can take advantage of shaded outdoor terraces that offer views and spaces for respite or connection. At the plaza level, meditation and yoga decks, healing gardens, and welcoming gathering spaces create a dedicated wellness destination, while intuitive circulation throughout the campus helps reduce stress and anxiety.
