Boulder Community Health Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion
Della Cava Family Medical Pavilion
Where Behavioral Health Meets a Neighborhood Model
CAMPUS CONTEXT
A New Front Door to the Foothills Campus
The project redevelops four existing properties into a three-story, 70,430-square-foot medical office building adjacent to its parent hospital campus. An adjacent six-level parking structure relieves overflow from the main campus, while ground-level retail gives visiting families a place to grab food or coffee while patients are in treatment.
Brick, copper, and glass were selected as primary materials to root the building in its surroundings while tying it visually to the hospital campus beyond.
PROGRAM
A Full Spectrum of Behavioral Health Services
The building houses outpatient behavioral health, electroconvulsive therapy, and neurology alongside inpatient behavioral health care, including an 18-bed unit with two seclusion rooms, a counseling center, and a center for mind-body medicine. This integrated program allows care to range from outpatient treatment through acute inpatient services within a single facility, giving patients and providers continuity across the full spectrum of behavioral health needs. A large courtyard, designed as a garden setting, anchors the site and provides fresh air along with safe pedestrian connections between the medical office building, the parking garage, and neighboring facilities.
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
A Neighborhood Model for Behavioral Health
The behavioral health unit is organized around a neighborhood concept, where each patient room functions as a home, oversized hallways serve as a front porch, and shared day and dining spaces act as a downtown gathering point. This structure gives patients a choice between being in the middle of activity, observing from a distance, or retreating to privacy. Tunable lighting mimics natural daylight cycles, and an interior courtyard planted with safe, non-toxic vegetation gives patients access to fresh air, sunlight, and views of the night sky.
Wayfinding throughout the building draws on natural materials and warm lighting to create a calm, legible environment for patients and visiting families alike. Reception and waiting areas were designed to feel residential rather than clinical, softening the experience of arrival for patients coming in for behavioral health or specialty care services. Furnishings and finishes were chosen to support a sense of comfort and dignity throughout every stage of a visit. Soft seating, warm wood tones, and layered lighting work together to ease the transition from the parking structure and courtyard into the clinical environment beyond. This attention to the arrival sequence reflects a broader commitment to treating every visit, whether for a routine appointment or a more sensitive behavioral health need, with the same level of care.
The completed pavilion brings together behavioral health, neurology, and specialty services once dispersed across multiple locations, supporting Boulder Community Health's long-term strategy of expanding access to integrated care. The project earned a Platinum Touchstone Award for Evidence-Based Design in recognition of its contribution to advancing behavioral healthcare environments.
