The three-story building combines surgical, clinical and rehabilitation services on a sensitively redeveloped suburban site populated with therapeutic landscapes. A transparent and welcoming building design engages evidence-based design strategies to improve the healthcare experience. The building offers a connection to daylight and the outdoors from almost any space within. The medical center sits on the northern half of its two-acre property, while therapeutic gardens and outdoor gathering areas grace the south side. Its contemporary architecture of sweeping horizontal planes, cantilevers and setbacks, together with its region-sensitive landscape, is consistent with the modernist legacy of Pasadena, whose local landmarks include designs by architects Greene and Greene, Richard Neutra and Craig Ellwood, and landscape architects Garrett Eckbo and Lawrence Halprin.

Organized for efficiency, the new facility is half the size of the former hospital, yet able to serve three times the number of patients. The ground floor houses patient check-in, clinical examination and x-ray, and prosthetic limb manufacturing space. The second floor contains surgical and rehabilitation services, and a light garden court provides daylight to waiting and circulation areas. The third floor contains administrative and physician offices, a conference center, medical library, and a large outdoor patio and sky garden. Upper-story terraces offer opportunities for activities ranging from waiting and respite to recreation and rehabilitation.

The project balances patient privacy and safety needs with the City of Pasadena’s master planning goals for an open and welcoming building that would allow public access and contribute to the quality of the street space. The medical center’s glass-lined walls present an inviting character, reveal the activity within the building, and provide views of surrounding garden spaces. The perimeter enclosure utilizes multiple screening techniques to provide different levels of privacy. They range from thin metal vertical pickets for open and transparent views into the more public areas of the courtyard, to planted walls and water-jet-cut panels for full privacy.

The multi-level landscape is designed for healing, reflecting and gathering. Each of three outdoor areas is inspired by a different ecological and cultural aspect of the Pasadena region: the grasslands of the San Gabriel foothills, the farmland of the region, and the annual Rose Parade. The iconic rose, Pasadena’s official flower, led to the vibrant plantings and shade canopies of the gardens and plaza at the front of the site. Meandering paths, stairs, and ramps allow young patients to exercise and traverse a variety of terrain on their road to recovery.