Allied Health & Communication Arts Building
Pierce College Puyallup
The Allied Health and Communication Arts Building unites multiple disciplines into a hybrid facility that provides the campus and surrounding community with state-of-the-art instructional spaces.
Size: 61,600 sf
Location: Puyallup, WA
Stat: LEED Gold
Design Architect: Opsis Architecture
Architect of Record: MSGS Architects
The project is the first building in the third phase expansion of the campus, including a new 350-space parking lot and loop road that establishes the AHCAB as a main public gateway to the campus. Carefully sited in an existing cedar grove, the 61,600 sf LEED Gold building incorporates a variety of sustainable strategies including a displacement ventilation system in the main theatre, radiant and chilled slabs; on-site stormwater retention; water-saving, low-flow and waterless fixtures; healthy and renewable materials and finishes; dashboard displays of energy savings and green housekeeping program.
Housing the College’s performing arts, digital arts and nursing programs, the blended facility required a highly collaborative planning process with faculty from multiple disciplines, which resulted in the break-down of traditional silos, promoting overlap and shared use of many spaces.
The facility incorporates a 295-seat multi-use theatre, multi-media lab, classrooms, informal learning spaces and a light-filled, two-story atrium lobby that provides for the various programs, opportunities for gathering, and gallery event space.
The Allied Health wing includes a 10-bed nursing simulation lab with a fully integrated simulation (SIM) control room. Adjacent to the nursing lab, a mock medical front office and testing lab enables students to learn all aspects of the medical profession. Opsis teamed with MSGS Architects from predesign through close-out.
