The design for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian’s $1 billion expansion of its Sun Family Campus takes inspiration from William Pereira’s original master plan for the city of Irvine.
The American architect’s vision of a collection of villages connected by regional parks got him on the cover of Time Magazine in 1963, characterizing his design as the “vistas of the future.”
The architecture firm behind Hoag’s major expansion is Irvine-based LPA Design Studios, which has distinguished itself from other firms with its environmentally-conscious designs and ranks as the second-largest architectural firm in Orange County with $76.5 million in local billings.
“The goal on this project was very much about a wellness village connected to nature, really creating a healing environment,” LPA Chief Executive Wendy Rogers told the Business Journal.
The six-building campus, which broke ground last July, will have dedicated institutes for specialties among the most in demand, including women’s health, cancer and digestive health.
LPA’s design aims to balance indoor and outdoor elements with gardens, ranging from a serenity and relaxation garden to a therapeutic movement garden, geared toward each specific institute.
So far, a surgical pavilion is the first building, along with two completed parking garages, to take shape in the campus. The first phase of the expansion is expected to be completed by spring of 2026.
Nature-Inspired Design Elements
LPA was awarded the project in 2019 after being selected from a design competition.
Out of 10 firms that were interviewed, five were asked to prepare a design concept.
Rogers said that LPA’s design stood out from the competition who mainly showed tall vertical towers, in line with how hospitals are typically modeled.
Towers lend themselves as efficient designs for healthcare facilities, allowing for elevator systems but doesn’t necessarily create a “human-centric approach,” according to Rogers.
“Our design is much more of a horizontal campus,” Rogers said. “Every building is tied to nature and is decentralized.”
In the pre-design phase, researchers at LPA worked with physicians to make more informed decisions when it came to the design process.
Their research found a direct correlation between how people feel and their medical outcomes, inspiring them to create outdoor spaces for both patients and their families.
“It provides areas to find peace during a stressful time,” Rogers said.
All patient zones in the institutes were designed to have natural daylight and views for “human-scaled moments of respite,” Rogers said.
LPA’s landscape designers were particularly interested in the biomass that’d form as a result of the project.
They used biomimicry, the practice of emulating nature in human engineering, to influence multiple aspects of the campus.
“Our landscape architects had a huge play in coming up with a lot of the sustainable strategies for the project,” Rogers said.
Once completed, they estimate it will increase the permeable landscape of the area by about 45% and create microecosystems for birds and other pollinators.
Storm water will also be treated with modular wetland systems on the campus, filtering it of any pollutants.
Even a detail as small as picking lighter colored concrete was intentionally chosen to reflect more light and reduce the heat gain from the overall environment.
Commitment to Net Zero Emissions
One of the main aspects of the wellness village is walkability, prioritizing pedestrians over vehicles similar to Pereira’s design ethos.
“We made a very conscious decision to move the parking structures to the back and look at how we would make a different investment in pedestrians,” Rogers said.
There’s also an elaborate system of underground tunnels that connect the entire campus for greater efficiency.
Rogers said she’s most proud of the north campus possessing a 77% reduction in the predicted energy use intensity, compared to the national average of about 50% reduction.
LPA is currently working towards reaching net zero emissions as part of its involvement with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Commitment.
LPA is one of 1,350 firms that have committed to creating sustainable designs.
Built environments currently make up 40% of the world’s emissions, according to AIA. It wasn’t until 2019 that the California Green Building Standards Code applied to healthcare projects, according to Rogers.
“I was astounded by the fact because we’ve had to do that in public education and that health care hadn’t had to do that until so recently,” Rogers said.
“So, this is new behavior to understand how buildings that are very energy intensive can actually be smarter.”
Other local projects LPA is working on include the expansion of Sage Hill High School and a $65 million facility for Pretend City at the Great Park.
