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The School of Medicine and Orvis School of Nursing desire a building that promotes integration and unification for the purposes of inspiring the students, while in an educational environment, to experience more closely the kinds of relationships they will have within an integrated team of medical colleagues when practicing medicine. The School's brief also includes the notion that this facility shall contribute to its goal to develop a "north campus" atmosphere, respect adjacent aesthetics, colors and/or materials, and act as a "precedent" to the future development of the campus' medical education facilities.

This design responds directly to the programmatic functions and adjacencies mutually and individually defined by each department. As a result of these program specifics and adjacencies in combination with site constraints, the building is arranged as two zones staggered along a secondary circulation spine. This generates optimal exterior courts to encourage a more positive connection of interior and exterior spaces. As well, it offers the opportunity to place the student lounge within the southeast court as a "home away from home" concept. This is intended to generate a healthy psychological environment for medical students as they spend most, and often all, of their time in this building making for stressful situations that can be balanced by positive environmental experiences. With that, the Student Lounge is given adequate glass for connections to the exterior and it is intended that a combination of clear and translucent glass will be utilized to maximize natural light.

The main entry foyer is presented on the north side of the building in response to direct access from parking and adjacent structures. This approach honors the intent of UNR's initial planning for campus growth.

The architecture responds to the program needs of having "areas" of program consolidation and isolation. UNR requested that the Anatomy Lab be located less publicly as opposed to most of the remaining program function. With that, the offset stagger provided the opportunity to remove its main access points farther from the northeast and south primary entrances. Both the Anatomy Lab and the Multidisciplinary labs are stacked and located over the receiving area for ease of access to the service court below as well as consolidating HVAC concerns. The remaining functions are distributed and zoned according to space adjacency requirements. Sustainability, Materials and Details. The building's staggered layout also maximizes the lineal feet of perimeter wall available to provide increased natural daylight to most of the program functions and circulation areas. The intent is to reduce the electrical demand for most of the building. A large percentage of individual offices and all the meeting spaces are offered views to the exterior with sunscreen elements on the South and West faces. The glass walls at the main entry foyer and the secondary north south hall increase natural daylight when circulating from one area to another and allow daylight transfer into the more internalized spaces at each level. In an effort to minimize mechanical ventilation and cooling, these areas are planned to have operable windows to act as a vehicle for exhausting air through cross ventilation methods. Operable skylights would also contribute to better indoor air quality and less energy demand particularly in the main entry foyer.

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