Design Team:
Architecture Firm: APTUS Architecture
Architect of Record: APTUS Architecture
Client/Owner/Developer: Donrite Management
Landscape Architect: APTUS Architecture
Structural Engineer: Sierra Consulting Structural Engineers
Mechanical Engineer: MSA Engineering Consultants
Electrical Engineer: MSA Engineering Consultants
Civil Engineer: Stantec Consulting
General Contractor: Dunrite Construction
Photographer: APTUS Architecture

Statement of Design Approach:
The focus of the design of the San Martin Medical Campus is on the patients’ experience. This idea starts with the shaded entrances to each building which contain integrated outdoor seating in two areas. The pedestal for the columns that support the trellis doubles as a high bench, while the base of the signage towers near the entrance to the courtyards contain a low cantilevered concrete bench. Both locations serve as additional seating areas for the patients of the buildings and offer the opportunity to wait outdoors rather than inside. This approach is meant to provide a more comfortable experience when visiting the doctor. This comfortable patient experience is further enhanced by the three courtyards, one between each of the four buildings. Each courtyard is oriented to provide shade and landscaped with low water use plants.

Narrative:
Phase 1 of the San Martin Medical Campus is part of an overall campus that includes three additional shell office buildings, a parking structure, and a specialty rehab hospital. This site is located directly west of the St. Rose Dominican Hospital on Warm Springs Boulevard. Phase 1 includes four one-story, shell offi ce buildings each containing 10,398 square feet and is designed to house up to four tenants. The campus is located in a portion of newly developed southwest Las Vegas. The buildings blend into the desert from a distance, but reveal an intricate design upon closer inspection, much like the desert itself. Through the strategic design and use of materials, we were able to deliver a high quality project at a low cost, keeping the development competitive with the rest of the market.

Sustainable Description:
Creating outdoor space was essential to the sustainability of the San Martin Medical Campus. Outdoor waiting spaces and courtyards were important to the layout of the site in addition to patient and building occupant use. There is a courtyard located between each of the four buildings. Each courtyard is provided with desert landscaping and trees that sufficiently separate each building, provide shade for the users, and allow for storm water to permeate into the ground.

Each building’s form and construction were passively designed to be more efficient than the typical shell office building. The north and south walls were built of 2x8’s rather than the typical 2x6’s for single story wood construction to provide for more insulation. The interior structure of the buildings consists of two main steel girders running the long axis of the building supported by the exterior walls and only one interior column. This not only allowed for a more open floor plan, but minimized the amount of materials and labor involved. The roof structure was also designed to minimize materials by “warping” the roof to slope towards the roof drains without the use of any roof crickets.