St. Charles Cancer Center is a new 6,000 square-foot facility located in Bend, Oregon. Designed from the ground up with patient, family, staff and community input, it’s focus is on taking a patient-centric approach to treatment with everything – from oncology and radiology to “patient navigation” support and evidence-based complementary therapies – housed under one roof.
Riverside Community College Nursing and Sciences Complex
I just wrapped up another architectural photography shoot in Riverside, California. The riverside Community College’s new Nursing and Science Education Building, designed by GKK Works, includes approximately 135,000 square-feet of educational space for the nursing and science college programs. The four-story southeast wing of the structure was designed specifically for math and science programs and includes lecture halls and support offices such as experimental, computer and study laboratories. The exterior of the building was carefully designed to promote student activity in a calm, open, and refreshing environment. The arched walkways are designed to reflect the “Old Missionary” architectural style of the campus and include a small amphitheater, and an inviting courtyard leading out to a healing garden within a short distance from the building.
My goal for this session was to capture the mood of the facility as a building. Previous projects have shown the combination of structure and staff. This shoot was intended to deliver the idea that the facility itself could be used as a motivating and comfortable environment for the nurses and other healthcare practitioners who work here every day.
As you peruse the images, notice the clean and modern feel of the railings and tile work. This theme is accented by the warmth of the wood grain seen on the walls and beams that stretch high into the ceilings. I think this combination is a perfect way to represent the nature of work for the staff. They are professional and highly-trained and also warm, compassionate, and dedicated practitioners.
The use of natural lighting works to conserve energy and deliver the healing rays from the sun. Students and nurses can feel the warmth of the southern California sun while they learn – all while protecting the environment through energy conservation. Architectural photography often allows us to see what is important to the designers and builders. In the case of the Riverside Community College – Nursing & Science/Math Complex, it’s apparent that what is most important is the ability of the complex to enable the staff and students to achieve their best work.
SHARP CANCER CENTER, CHULA VISTA
After having covered it's construction, I was tasked with creating the official medical center photography package. After having photographed the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center during construction, I was eager to get the chance at shooting the structure after it was finished. The completed project was even more stunning that I could have imagined as I saw first saw it. What I could have not anticipated was the way the interior design was aimed toward an artistic and modern theme that really brings life to what was once cold steel and concrete framing. As a San Diego architectural photographer, I am always amazed to see the progression from unfinished construction project to architectural masterpiece in a relatively short period of time. Designed by NTD Architecture, the newly completed Cancer Center at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center was designed with vital input from those it will serve. By integrating natural light and soothing colors and sound, its aesthetics bring the outdoors inside, thereby creating a comforting environment for all. The finished building represents a sanctuary of relaxation and healing. Lush gardens can be seen from the corridors and waiting areas — even from the technically modern radiation treatment rooms. The open design uses light wells, windows and atrium spaces unlike any other radiation therapy center in San Diego County.
As you recall from the construction photos, the framing looked like a skeleton of a very modern structure. Still, having seen the completed building in the air of dusk, the final result is even more of a wonder than I could have predicted. Also from the construction photos, the image of the welder and what it said about detail was obviously a theme that was carried forth in all phases of the design and construction.
This will remain as one of my favorite projects during my time as a San Diego architectural photographer. To see the different stages in the creation of this facility was a joy to witness. I am sure the research and treatment conducted inside the building will live up to the brilliance of the facility itself.
HILLCREST MEDICAL CENTER
During my tenure as San Diego hospital photography artist, I’ve had the chance to photograph some truly important sites. For this project I got the opportunity to capture shots of an essential part of the region’s healthcare system; The UCSD Medical Center at Hillcrest’s Emergency Department. UC San Diego’s Hillcrest Medical Center is the focal point for UCSD Health System’s education and community service missions. The hospital recently engaged in several large project improvements, including the expansion of their emergency and trauma center designed by Mascari Warner Architects and constructed by KITCHELL.
The UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest is the primary hospital for the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
As Sand Diego’s only academic medical center, UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center provides both primary care and specialized services. The important services provided by the center include a full range of surgery, diagnosis and management of genetic disease, as well as neurology, orthopedics, oncology, and the Sleep Medicine Center.
This center was recently renovated. The 386-bed hospital at UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest is the primary site for services such as the Comprehensive Organ Transplant Program, Bone Marrow Transplantation, San Diego Regional Burn Center. Infant Special Care Center, Birth Center, San Diego County's only academic Level One Trauma Center, and the National Institutes of Health-designated Clinical Research Center are also found at this state-of-the-art facility.
You can see in the images a facility that is poised to receive patients and offer treatment that is both comforting and professionally effective. The building is constructed (and recently renovated) to take advantage of technology to aid the medical practitioners as they administer care. For this project I was able to capture some of the employees at work. While this and most of my other targets are important structures in their own right, seeing those who bring the structure to life through their work is an added touch that focuses us on the cooperation between the staff and the building.
SHARP CANCER CENTER, CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
One of the treats of being an architectural photographer and shooting construction progress photography is to see construction as it is happening. I recently produced some construction progress photos of the Sharp Chula Vista Cancer Center. The center was designed by NTD Architects and is being constructed by a joint venture of J. Reese Construction and Kitchell.
Once finished, the facility will measure 45,000 square feet over three stories. The first level will feature the Cancer Center. The cancer center floor of the building will span 15,220-square feet and will include essential facets such as the patient lobby and waiting areas, exam rooms, and a resource center. Additionally, the cancer center floor will house doctor offices, conference rooms, nurse stations, CT scan rooms. Radiation therapy chambers and indoor and outdoor healing gardens are prominent features that will make up the cancer center once the project is completed. The design makes extensive use of natural lighting, rock gardens and interior atriums to provide a comfortable spa-like ambiance in waiting, exam, and treatment areas. A dual entrance design is employed to provide privacy for cancer patients receiving treatments.
At the point in time when I was able to photograph the construction you can see the detail of the framing. The sturdy beams and other framework will serve as the skeleton for a facility that will be at the cutting edge of design and function once the project is complete. One shot in particular captures the essence of the construction. The welder fusing together two pieces of the building’s frame really works to bring this massive project down to an intimate level. Instead of being an abstract construction project, the image of the welder reminds us all that it is only by the capable hands of the workers that this project is even possible. To me, it reminds me of the detail that is necessary in order to accomplish anything great – whether as a construction worker or architectural photographer.
UC Riverside School of Medicine / Riverside, California
As a professional architectural photographer involved with university photography, the real joy is found in discovering new ways to capture works of design art. There were ample opportunities for appreciation at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. The subject of this shoot was the three-story School of Medicine Research Building located in Riverside, California. Designed by SRG Partnership, the structure spans approximately 58,000 square feet designed to meet the LEED Silver sustainability standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. Among the many facets of the building that caught my eye, the fascinating parts of learning about the complex were found in the details of the school’s commitment to efficiency and conservation. The research building utilizes natural day lighting and a “night flushing” cooling system to take advantage of cool nighttime air, thereby reducing energy usage for air conditioning. A portion of the building materials have recycled content and the landscaping is water-efficient.
You will notice from the images that the building embodies a forward-thinking design concept. Inside, the interior design shows a modern and clean look. You can almost feel the technology in the images – a sense of the technical genius that is applied to the research conducted at the school.
A professional architectural photographer is at his or her best when the subject of the shoot is able to stand as it is rather than be used to project a predetermined mood. I had no intentions to make anything new out of the building but rather to find and capture the ways in which the structure shines on its own.
The most important part of the facility is the staff of students and other researchers who utilize the building for their important work. These images show a building that is able to accommodate the professionals who work tirelessly to further the study of medicine. You can imagine that this stunning structure will continue to be the setting for groundbreaking research for years to come.