Clark Construction Group, along with SmithGroup + HKS Joint Venture, has officially announced the groundbreaking of its new El Paso VA Health Care Center in Fort Bliss, Texas. Among the guests, there was the design-build team joined by personnel from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District. Anyway, according to certain reports, this new care health center is designed to be a 492,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility located on the William Beaumont Army Medical Center campus. More on the same would reveal how it will feature 47 departments to augment the campus’s care-centered offerings. Furthermore, the project is going to bring a new central utility plant and significant improvements across utilities, stormwater management, and parking facilities for the entire Fort Bliss campus, including the adjacent SmithGroup-designed National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) Fort Bliss satellite. Talk about the whole property on a slightly deeper level, we must begin from the fact that, boasting a total of six stories, it will enjoy a centralized entry canopy on the building’s northern façade, while simultaneously providing shade and establishing a main arrival sequence. Next up, we must dig into the center’s promise in the context of authentically connecting to its surroundings, something it will do by embracing the natural landscape of El Paso, particularly the Franklin Mountains and the desert striations that define the region. This would include reflecting the high desert environment through materials like rock, stone, and textured precast concrete, materials which are integrated into the building’s façade to evoke the nearby mountains’ geological strata and rugged textures.
Then, there is careful orientation of the building treading a long distance to ensure that all the available mountain views are maximized. Markedly enough, the facility has a distinctive focus on patient and public waiting areas so to provide a constant visual connection to the natural environment.
“We are honored to serve USACE and VA in delivering an exemplary design-build project for our Veterans, and we congratulate our partners on this significant groundbreaking milestone,” said Wayne Barger, vice president and director of health at SmithGroup. “With our extensive experience in Veterans healthcare facilities and our ongoing engagement at this site, our team is well-versed in designing for the specific needs of Veterans and their continuum of care. Our design solution for the new El Paso VA Health Center thoughtfully integrates advanced patient-focused innovations, evidence-based design, and state-of-the-art technology for a holistic healthcare experience for our Veterans.”
Moving on, public outdoor amenities round off the entire structure to create a wellness experience even before you enter the property. These amenities include, to the northeast, an 18,000-square-foot healing garden which, partially shaded by the building’s canopy, offers a tranquil space for respite. Towards the northwest, there is a 6,500 square feet of outdoor cafe seating which connects to the interior canteen. Beyond that, the facility offers a 5,000-square-foot shaded staff plaza on the facility’s south side connecting the main staff entry to dedicated staff parking. Stepping inside, you can expect a dynamic two-story lobby that welcomes patients and their families with retail spaces and a patient pharmacy flanking either side of the lobby. Complimenting that are reception and waiting areas situated on each of the four clinical floors (levels 2-5). These areas happen to be aligned along the northern façade to let visitors enjoy daylighting and views of natural landscape. As for the staff workspaces and service spaces, they are programmed rather meticulously behind clinical spaces and along the southern spine of the building. This, like you can guess, ensures that both clinical staff and patients can enjoy an efficient on-stage/off-stage operations model.
Another detail worth a mention here is how Clark Construction will build out the new health center in conjunction with trade subcontractor partners, including MMC Contractors, Inc., Bergelectric Corporation, Gate Precast Company, SteelFab, Inc., as well as with local subcontractor partners like Jordan Foster Construction, Glass House, and Hardy Hole Drilling. Not just that, it will also invite several other local small and diverse businesses to support its operations.
