Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo El Centro Health Center | Nadel Architecture + Planning

The El Centro Medical building is a new 2 story, 44,137 GSF state-of-the-art medical facility located in the city of El Centro in California’s Imperial Valley. It is immediately adjacent to U.S. Interstate 8, providing tremendous visibility to passersby’s and easy access from the entire region. The site is master-planned to accommodate over 250 parking spaces and is landscaped in an “orchard” configuration. The facility was constructed for a single tenant: Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, a health-care provider long established in the Imperial Valley.  
The building shell is of two-story, concrete tilt-up construction, with an internal steel frame and concrete and steel composite floors. Window openings are carefully sized to provide ample daylighting while minimizing unnecessary solar gain. For example, the west façade has a smaller percentage of glazing than does the north façade. The ground floor to second floor height is 15’-0”, and the second floor to roof height is 13’-6”. High efficiency rooftop package units were installed to provide heating and cooling needs.  
The architectural expression of the building is intended to reflect the areas desert setting and agricultural history. Custom patterning of the concrete wall panels evokes the land division of fields and parcels. The panels are painted in shades drawn from the surrounding desert landscapes. On the freeway side of the building, two distinctive window bays catch the eye from both east and west approaches. A large glazed area on the south side, facing the auto entry and the bulk of the parking, creates a welcoming entry. The varied patterning of the window openings creates a lively rhythm in addition to strategically limiting heat gain. The site landscaping is generous in area and drought resistant. Extensive use of Palo Verde and Desert Willow tree enhances the patron experience and provides needed shade.