University of Texas at El Paso College of Health Sciences / School of Nursing
El Paso, Texas
The new 130,000-square-foot College of Health Sciences Complex will provide facilities for all academic and research programs of the College of Health Sciences and the School of Nursing. Anticipated to be completed in 2011, this state-of-art facility will include instructional, research and clinical components including virtual reality and interactive technology, such as a number of Clinical Simulation Labs to teach essential nursing skills in actual clinical settings. Simulation situations will range from trauma and critical care units to patient exam rooms through a progression of common clinical problems and emergency laboratory simulations.
Additionally, the building is being designed to include the cooperative Pharmacy program of the University of Texas at El Paso/University of Texas at Austin as well as the University of Texas at El Paso/University of Texas Health Sciences Center-Houston Master of Public Health program and other related health programs and activities.
The design of the COHS/SON recognizes the distinctive “Bhutanese” architectural style that is required in the University of Texas system master plan. Rather than only looking to buildings designed on the campus the team did extensive research on the history and elements of Bhutanese architecture. This work allowed the university to be convinced to use both a different roof type and increase the amount of exterior glass bringing daylight deep into the inside of the building. The combination of new architectural elements on the exterior and state of the art teaching spaces will make this building be an important new addition to the University of Texas at El Paso campus.