The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion at University of Michigan Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of University of Michigan, will welcome the new $920 million D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion to its main medical campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the fall 2025.

The project will both expand highly complex inpatient capacity and improve the number of single private rooms on the main medical campus.

The 264-bed facility will house a state-of-the-art neurosciences center, specialty services for cardiovascular and thoracic patients, 20 surgical suites, and three interventional radiology suites.

With the 12-story building, five floors will house 48 patient rooms each; a separate 24-bed, ICU-designated critical care unit will be located between two surgical platforms. The building’s top two floors, with 96 licensed beds, will be designed to function as individual respiratory infectious containment units.

The new private patient rooms will have the capabilities of intensive care rooms, allowing them to be easily converted from acute care to higher acuity care as needs evolve over time.

Campus addition at Michigan Medicine

The Kahn Pavilion is located on Michigan Medicine’s main medical campus, known as “the hill” and is adjacent to the university’s Central Campus in Ann Arbor.  A bridge and tunnel will connect the pavilion to the adjacent Frankel Cardiovascular Center and the medical center for visitors, patients, and services.

The overall design of the project responds to the scale, massing, and materiality of the other medical center buildings. Precast concrete panels with a color range of Indiana limestone and highly energy-efficient glass are the two primary exterior materials.

The interior color palette is coined “Michigan meets Michigan” and pairs natural Michigan colors—blue from the lakes, beiges from the sand beaches, green and dark walnut from the hardwood forests—with the well-known maize and blue branding of the University of Michigan.

Sustainable design features

The pavilion is designed with a focus on environmental sustainability, which is a priority for the university and Michigan Medicine, as the institution implements strategies to move to carbon neutrality in the future.

The project considered use of materials and energy and water efficiencies as primary goals. The sustainable strategies are expected to result in a 49 percent reduction in CO2 admissions, 19 percent natural gas savings, 71 percent total electricity savings, 6 million gallons of water savings, and an overall 20 percent reduction in energy usage.

Additionally, material lifecycle analysis was conducted on the building’s structure, foundations, and envelope. Iterative modeling allowed the project team to review areas of opportunity to reduce embodied carbon both through design efficiency and the specification of lower embodied carbon concrete.

Selection of environmentally preferable materials was then verified through construction tracking with the installation of products with multiple raw material attributes and those with third-party verified environmental product declarations.

Ultimately, the project was able to demonstrate a 15 percent reduction in global warming potential. After preliminary review by USGBC, the project is on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification.  

D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion at University of Michigan Health project details

Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.

Expected completion date: Spring 2025

Owner: University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine

Total building area: 690,000 sq. ft.

Total project cost: $920 million

Project cost/sq. ft.: $1,300

Architect: HOK (lead architect), IDS (associate architect)

Interior designer: HOK

General contractor: Barton Malow

Engineers: HOK (structural), AEI (mechanical and electrical), Beckett & Raeder (civil)

Project details are provided by the design team and not vetted by Healthcare Design.