Phase II of the
Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation in downtown Phoenix opened in August 2009. Designed by SmithGroup, Phoenix, and built by DPR Construction Inc., Phoenix, the 84,000-square-foot (7,804-m2) office, classroom and research building is clad in copper. The fast-tracked project was designed and built in 22 months. The facility was funded by the city of Phoenix, with bond approval in 2006, and is being leased to Arizona State University for its College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
SmithGroup Design Principal Mark Kranz, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, noted that the multiclient structure with varying vested interests added to the challenge of designing this gateway facility. “The design delicately balances the dreams of a three-pronged client structure,” Kranz recalled. “As the owner, the city of Phoenix required an urban building that creates shade and adds to the architectural character of its evolving downtown core, and the university required an elegant icon on a tight budget. The College of Nursing and Health Innovation had needs for expansion and brand identity for its high-profile college.”
With an estimated 75 percent of the construction waste diverted from conventional landfills, and solar panels on the roof being used, in part, to heat the facility’s water, the Phase II project is seeking LEED-NC Silver certification.
Located in the Copper Square area of downtown, the building plays a prominent role in both its downtown location and its location as the campus gateway. Copper was chosen as a showcase material for its color, durability, sustainability and importance to the state.
The copper-skinned steel-framed building includes a high-performance glass curtainwall on the north, in addition to a lantern feature, wrapping an exterior stair. The copper skin utilizes three different profiles in a randomly repeating pattern to create texture and a play of light and shadow. Firestone Metal Products, Anoka, Minn., supplied its UNA-CLAD Architectural Grade Sheet Copper for perforated panels that provide air movement and shading at the exterior stairs and balconies. Kovach Inc., Chandler, Ariz., was the supplier and subcontractor, custom fabricating the copper into the perforated panels.
The design team was seeking a sustainable, affordable material that would offer an appropriate aesthetic identity to the university’s downtown campus. An additional preference was for a material that would weather beautifully and naturally in the arid desert climate. Copper plays a significant part of Arizona’s history and economy, as Arizona has led copper production nationally for the last century. It allowed the design team a great deal of flexibility in terms of panel design, leading to a highly articulated copper enveloper that complements other campus architecture while creating a unique identity for this campus gateway building.
This compact, five-story building serves as both the campus’ primary gateway on its marquee corner of downtown Phoenix, and will be the home for one of the largest nursing programs in the U.S.
Firestone Metal Products, www.unaclad.com
