Project category: New construction (completed July 2004)

Chief administrator: Terrance Muldoon, Vice-President, (310) 829-8137

Firms: SmithGroup, (213) 228-6930; HOK, (310) 838-9555

Design team: Terrance Muldoon, Vice-President (Saint John’s Health Center); John Conley, Principal-in-Charge; Nan Doeling, Project Manager (HOK); Kirk Rose, AIA, Principal-in-Charge; Simon Bruce, Senior Planner (SmithGroup)

Photography: Benny Chan; Tim Griffith

Total building area (sq. ft.): 205,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $415

Total construction cost (excluding land): $85,000,000


The new North Pavilion at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, combines cutting-edge medical technology, the newest seismic and life-safety measures, and a warm, comforting environment to deliver some of the best patient care in the nation.

The North Pavilion, as part of the first of two construction phases, replaces the Health Center’s existing orthopedic, cancer, intensive care, labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care, and critical care patient rooms. This facility provides comprehensive acute inpatient care, including the most advanced tertiary care and other intensive services available in the Western United States. The project was planned to minimize disruption of services and the impact of construction on the community.

Our team designed the hospital to feel like a home or hotel. The carpeted hallways feature indirect lighting to reduce glare for patients on gurneys. Patient rooms include large windows, sofa beds for family members, and a media system with Internet access and a 42″ plasma television.

Medical equipment is easily moved to accommodate a patient’s needs and medical treatment. Cutting-edge technologic elements include a 100% seamless wireless data network system for physicians and staff, and clocks that never need to be set, relying on satellite technology to keep perfect time.

We designed a base-isolated structure for the North Pavilion so the facility could remain fully operational after a major seismic event such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake, or other catastrophes.