Situated to maximize views of the Front Range on one of the original homesteads in the Boulder Valley, the 49-acre site chosen for Boulder Community Foothills Hospital had remained in agricultural use for over 100 years. OZ Architecture was retained to design this facility to achieve many goals, but most specifically, to create a facility to nurture the health-related needs of Boulder County's women and children within a resort-like environment. To achieve this goal, medical equipment and nursing stations recede into the background as local art adorns walls and niches, and the pediatric unit provides a camp-like setting to help reduce apprehension. Twinkle-stars light the corridor ceiling at night and colorful porches and murals mark entrances to the children's cabins. A three-sided courtyard, outdoor seating, and nature walk areas foster healing of patients and visitors alike. Acknowledging evidence that patients heal more quickly with the support of their families, all patient rooms accommodate overnight visitors. Parents may remain overnight during their child's hospital stay and a state-of-the-art Special Care Nursery provides both a private room for newborns requiring prolonged medical attention and an adjoining room for the infant's parents. In addition to labor and delivery, neo-natal intensive care and pediatrics, the facility also houses an emergency room, a surgery department and a full imaging department. Native Colorado materials were used for the structure as well as the building fa?ade, and wherever practical, products and manufacturers were selected within a 500-mile radius. Many of the products incorporated recycled material, and 64% of jobsite construction waste was recycled. The hospital achieved a Silver Rating under the LEED 2.0 Program, becoming the first hospital in the country to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Based on the approved master plan, there is an additional 165,000 square feet of medical office building space to be built on the Boulder Community Foothills Hospital Campus site - and Outpatient Services Building 2 is the first expansion building to be designed and built subsequent to construction of the OZ-designed hospital. OSB2 is a two-story building located at the main vehicular entrance to the campus. Designed to complement the existing hospital, it houses the 6,500 square-foot Table Mesa Family Practice Clinic on the second floor, with 5,000 square feet of tenant space on the first floor.

Boulder Community Hospital is located on one of the City's primary traffic arteries in an area just North of downtown Boulder. Adjacent to two recently renovated shopping areas, this expansion of the hospital needed to further enhance the streetscape and vehicular amenities as well as pedestrian benefits. The hospital itself was also in desperate need of office space for its doctors and staff, which were scattered in a variety of buildings within blocks of the hospital. The challenges of this project included taking a very dated, eclectic group of aging buildings and creating an in-fill by way of the Medical Office addition, along with a 'hidden' parking structure that would aid patient accessibility to the new wing. To accomplish this, the project included a master planning study and sub-area planning of the hospital site and surrounding streetscape interface with the neighborhood. Architecture for the Medical Office Building provided a new image for the hospital via the use of a rectilinear arrangement of rust-colored masonry columns and beams, a covered drop off area, balconies and a recessed glass lobby entrance. The original hospital exterior was blond brick, so this is carried through the new addition via a loop of blond brick that runs through the base of the office building, linking new with old and offering acknowledgement of the hospital's historic image.

This expansion and addition to Boulder Community Hospital's original facility included a new parking structure for use by patients and staff. Phase I included the design and construction of the 319-car parking garage with a retail front along Broadway, a major traffic arterial in the city. The retail shops effectively screen the parking lot from pedestrian and driver view. They also significantly enhance the streetscape, provide retail opportunities for general shoppers and pedestrians and create a human scale at the street level. The parking structure was designed to accommodate the addition of an underground tunnel between the parking structure and the MOB in the event that vehicular traffic became an impediment to safe access between the two buildings. Phase II added one and one-half stories to the top of the parking garage using pre-planned stair and elevator extensions.

Highlands Ranch is a 12,000 acre, planned community south of Denver. This two-story medical office building is occupied by Centura Health Group and sub-leased to member doctors. The facility features a two-color brick facade with porte cochere and extensive use of exterior glass. The site was fully landscaped to enhance the pedestrian transition from parking areas and occupants of the building can take advantage of a spectacular view of the Front Range while enjoying a sophisticated building designed by OZ Architecture - one that was built within a reasonable cost range. OZ also designed the interior spaces.

The Colorado Neurology and Headache Center is a 3,000 square-foot medical building near downtown Denver. It is located on a corner site adjacent to several hospitals and offers specialized treatment for serious headaches. The building contains areas for bio-feedback treatment and physical therapy, as well as reception space, offices and staff areas. Acoustical isolation and light control were important design considerations for this project. Our client was interested in a Southwestern design for the building because he felt it was "friendly". As the architects, we felt the Southwestern vocabulary needed to be balanced by a rational approach to create a building that would seem "friendly" but at the same time be clearly recognized as a medical clinic. Color and materials were carefully selected to emphasize this concept: pink stucco - a traditional material of Southwestern architecture - contrasted with white machined architectural elements such as coping, windows and trim that emphasize a rational approach and impart a sense of modern medical imagery. The South-facing courtyard is the primary space of the design. Conceived as a soothing oasis, it was designed with simple geometric forms. The courtyard consists of two square outdoor garden rooms: one square emphasizes soft and lush - like a green summer lawn - including a small reflecting pool, the other is comprised of a bosk of eight Newport plum trees in a hard court, providing summer shade and opportunities for winter use. The lobby, conference room, and staff lounge were designed around the courtyard. On the interior, natural light was brought into the major spaces of the building, such as the lobby, conference room and staff lunch room via clerestory windows. A light trap was used so that only soft diffused light enters these spaces to prevent patients from being subjected to harsh, direct light. The bio-feedback rooms, where many of the headache patients are treated, was located on the North side of the building, so that again only diffused light enters.

DHHA's Medical Research Lab Facility is planned to be approximately 60,000 SF at a cost of $18 million, including BSL3 lab space and vivarium. OZ Architecture was selected for this project after being rated "Best Value" by Denver Health and Hospital Authority?s rigorous "Performance Information Procurement System" architectural firm rating process. OZ received DHHA's top rating based upon our ability to perform, former client satisfaction, our management plan, our qualifications and our fees.

OZ Architecture designed a new Medical Office Building (MOB 3) on the Exempla Lutheran medical campus in Wheat Ridge and renovation of the existing buildings. The newly built MOB 3 interiors uses rich, earth tones of browns, taupes, rust orange which are high-lighted with deep red cherry woods. They main entry wall has a mosaic of wood paneling featuring a striking pendant as you enter. Finishes were selected to complement existing buildings to provide a consistent way-finding as one travels from one building to another.