Boulder Community Health West Medical Building at CMC Lafayette

PROJECT NARRATIVE

Situated in a maturing neighborhood, this medical office building supports an eye clinic and an ambulatory surgery center for a leading Colorado retina practice. The surgery center features two operating rooms and a space designed for retinal laser procedures, and the building will ultimately accommodate four to five medical practices within a compact footprint. This 29,650-square-foot, two-story structure is the second building on its site, carrying over the use of CMU block as the base material palette of its neighbor; while the first building is bold and highly patterned, this design uses softer colors to create a subtle contrast between the two.

The building's south-facing entrance is punctuated by a dynamic canopy prepped to accommodate a 99-kilowatt photovoltaic array, while a bright, high-volume lobby reaches up to a second-floor balcony perched beneath that canopy. The building is also one of only a handful of projects in the country to showcase emerging hybrid vacuum-insulated glass technology, designed to improve occupant comfort by reducing thermal transmittance and convection at the windows. While typical insulated glass performs around R-4, hybrid vacuum-insulated glass reaches R-14, bringing the overall assembly closer to the R-value of a wall and significantly reducing heat and cold transfer for more stable room temperatures and year-round energy efficiency.

This energy-efficient glazing prototype aligned closely with the client's commitment to sustainability, with close coordination alongside the fabricator during the pilot phase of this innovative technology. The project serves as a strong test site for a new approach to energy-efficient design in a climate known for significant temperature swings and abundant year-round sunshine.