Children’s Hospital Expansion Set to Open in Palo Alto

By Jeff Hamann

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Stanford Children’s Health has opened the new main building of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., more than doubling the hospital in size. The 521,000-square-foot structure will add 149 beds to the hospital’s campus, greatly expanding the capacity of the facility.

Located at 725 Welch Road, the new building will be directly connected with the existing hospital via a series of bridge corridors. A new advanced imaging center will open inside the property in addition to the patient care units. Surgical suites and some lab areas are still undergoing construction work, with an anticipated opening in mid-2018. After the opening, renovation work is slated to begin to update the hospital’s older west building.

Officially breaking ground in September of 2012, the project had an estimated price tag of $1.2 billion. The construction was financed both through donations and bonds issued by the State of California.

Green features

The project includes many sustainable building features, including water-efficient landscaping and advanced ventilation and shading systems. The property is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. These traits will reduce water usage by an estimated 800,000 gallons per year and decrease thermal energy consumption by up to 60 percent.

Robin Guenther, principal with Perkins + Will Architects, said in a prepared statement, “Sustainability and environmental consciousness are seamlessly woven into the experience of the building—from energy and water use dashboards and salvaged local redwood to harmonious integration of outdoor nature experiences.”

Image courtesy of Stanford Children’s Health