NMJC Allied Health Building

OWNER

New Mexico Junior College

ARCHITECT

Dekker/Perich/Sabatini Architects

SQUARE FEET

25,000

NAIOP NM Eagle Award Winner 2019
Medical

The New Mexico Junior College’s new Allied Health Building is a 23,000 square feet facility housing their nurse training program. The technology-rich building features sophisticated simulation equipment, skills labs, and integrated classroom space. The interior mimics a real hospital, including 20 beds with functional headwalls, four simulation labs with control rooms, and computerized pharmaceutical equipment. The labs create real-life medicalscenarios and evaluation opportunities.

Critical goals for the project included a desire to bolster an already strong academic program, strengthen the relationship with Lea Regional Medical Center and Nor-Lea Hospital District, and provide a facility that would support the curriculum needed for future students. To support these goals, the building was designed as a bridge between the campus and Lea Regional Medical Center, physically and symbolically. NMJC’s focus on the building’s “wow” factor, education on display, and collaborative spaces sets the facility on the forefront of health and wellness training.

In addition to training high-demand nurses, the facility will offer continuing training and certification for local providers and community members. The project team worked alongside healthcare experts to achieve NMJC’s long-term vision.

Infrastructure Excellence

The early stages of the project required the excavation of a 1,250-foot-long by 6-foot-deep mechanical line that ran across campus and through a major access road. Significant traffic control measures were taken to ensure accessibility to the surrounding campus and hospital. Traffic was diverted around the main Thunderbird loop and re-routed through a parking lot during the construction.

Speciality Facade

The building’s exterior German terra cotta cladding required a seven-month lead time and was ordered before the foundation was complete. The specialty material order left no room for error and the project team successfully executed the building to match the submittals and design specifications.

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