A new $86 million project will add 157,000-sf of space to the VA campus in Omaha, Neb. The Omaha VA Ambulatory Care Center will allow several outpatient services to move out of the main hospital, which opened in 1950.
Veteran symbolism is incorporated throughout the facility. The north façade is designed to resemble an American flag rippling in the wind and the western façade is lined with differently hued glass panes that evoke the ribbon bars awarded to service members. Separating the public spaces from the secure clinical areas is a limestone wall. It represents security, the foreign soil tracked home on soldiers’ boots, and the periods of conflict and peace through which veterans have served.
Courtesy Leo A Daly.
The three-story building will include seven primary-care units, an outpatient surgery suite, a women’s health clinic, and a specialty medicine unit allowing 400 additional outpatients to visit the clinic each day.
See Also: ‘Healing Oasis’ will provide healthcare services to veterans in northern California
The building’s design focuses on patient-centered care and integrates refuge spaces, healing gardens, a labyrinth, positive distractions, access to views and nature, and natural daylight. It is linked to the existing 12-story hospital via an on-grade connector.
Courtesy Leo A Daly.
The project is the first to take advantage of the 2016 CHIP IN for Vets Act, a new federal law that allows the VA to accept private donations to complete construction projects. The facility is slated for completion in 2020. McCarthy Construction is the general contractor.
Courtesy Leo A Daly.
Omaha VA Ambulatory Care Center Design from LEO A DALY on Vimeo.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among the nation's 50 largest design-build contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Design-Build Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
VA San Diego Healthcare System Building 1 Seismic Correction
San Diego, Calif.
Three decades after its original construction in the early 1970s, the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System Building 1 fell far short of current seismic codes. This not only put the building and its occupants—patients, doctors, nurses, visitors, and administrative staff—at risk in the event of a major earthquake, it violated a California state mandate requiring all hospitals to either retrofit or rebuild.
| Aug 11, 2010
HDR, Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest healthcare design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Healthcare Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Diffenbaugh completes construction of Loma Linda University Highland Springs Medical Plaza
J.D. Diffenbaugh, Inc. has completed construction of the new Highland Springs Medical Center for California's Loma Linda University Medical Center that will significantly enhance the access to medical services for families in the Inland Empire. The project was developed by Lillibridge Healthcare Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest private healthcare real estate firms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
