JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Hoefer Welker, an interdisciplinary architecture, planning and design firm based in Kansas City, Mo., is expanding to Jacksonville with a 5,600-square-foot office at 1301 Riverplace Blvd. on the Southbank. The firm also has an office in Dallas.

Hoefer Welker has multiple projects underway in the Jacksonville area and is designing more than 2.2 million square feet in Florida.

“Our footprint in the Jacksonville area continues to expand so it only made sense that we open an office here,” said Trevor Lee, Hoefer Welker’s Jacksonville managing partner. “We’re eager to continue growing throughout the Southeast.”

Some notable Hoefer Welker Florida projects include:

• A 193,500-square-foot VA Outpatient Clinic and Domiciliary that will serve the area’s 45,000 veterans. The facility, located at 145 Heron Bay Rd., will be completed in 2023.
• Two modernization projects for Air Force Base (AFB) medical facilities, each 69,000-square-foot projects, including 325th Medical Group Tyndall AFB and the 1st Special Operations Medical Group Hurlburt Field Clinic. The facilities are located outside Panama City and Pensacola respectively.
• Multiple projects with Baptist Health totaling more than 100,000 square feet in north Florida.

“With Florida’s increasing population — and our growing presence — Jacksonville was the natural choice for our third office,” said Mitch Hoefer, Hoefer Welker CEO and founding partner. “But just as instrumental in our decision was finding Trevor Lee, who’s an outstanding leader in architecture, a committed Jacksonville advocate and has a clear, strategic vision for growth.”

The Jacksonville office is opening with an established architectural staff, including Trevor Lee. Lee has guided the Jacksonville expansion with a focus on the broader Southeast region, and he will continue to build on Hoefer Welker’s formidable portfolio of work in both healthcare and commercial markets. Lee’s career in the design and construction industry spans more than 20 years, including 13 in Principal, VP and Partner roles in healthcare architecture and urban design.

Founded in 1996, Hoefer Welker is a multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, technology consultancy and engineering firm known for collaborating with clients to create performance-driven solutions. From offices in Kansas City, Dallas, and Jacksonville, the firm works with clients in the healthcare, education, government, civic, multifamily and commercial markets on projects across the U.S. For more information, please visit: hoeferwelker.com.

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PHOENIX, Ariz.—Hoefer Welker, a Kansas City-based architecture firm, and U.S. Federal Properties (USFP), a Kansas City-based developer, recently finished construction on an outpatient clinic for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located in Phoenix.

The Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, which spans roughly 275,000 square feet across 15 acres, will see half a million patient visits each year and is now one of the largest veteran care facilities in the United States.

The five-story clinic includes multispecialty and telehealth clinics, an education center, pathology, and imaging. In addition to a full kitchen and canteen for staff and patients on the first floor, the second floor houses one of the largest outpatient mental health clinics in the area, which provides counseling and specialty mental health services. Floors three, four, and five feature an innovative planning approach for the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) module, which can accommodate 72 PACT teams serving approximately 180 exam rooms.

For the clinic’s design, Hoefer Welker utilized its expertise in designing more than 30 VA facilities to reflect veterans’ health needs, including common areas, easy navigation, and an overall focus on healing and hospitality. Efficient clinical space layout promoted by the PACT module’s on- and off-stage model protects patient privacy, promotes intuitive wayfinding, allows providers to spend more time with patients, and minimizes staff and patient fatigue. VA Phoenix’s design incorporates extensive daylighting features such as lightwells in darker parts of the facility, panoramic views of the Arizona mountains, and access to green space and outdoor activities to create a relaxing environment for veterans and their families.

The clinic’s interior design reflects Arizona’s vibrant colors and geological formations, such as deep fissures carved into the façades and roof of the building that imitate the rugged terrain. Given the clinic’s location in a desert climate, sustainability was a priority for the design team to deflect sun glare into the building and reduce the energy output needed to cool the facility. VA Phoenix, which achieved a Two Green Globes certification, incorporates climate-responsive design features such as high-performance glazing and perforated, adjustable solar panels, which reduce glare and heat from the Arizona sun and ultimately lower energy costs and waste.

Hoefer Welker worked with the City of Phoenix, the VA, and individual veterans throughout the project to ensure each voice was heard.

“As a firm, we’ve built a solid partnership with the VA over the past 15 years. VA projects are very unique because they’re centered around a mission to give back to the veteran community, which has very specific healthcare needs,” said Hoefer Welker Partner & Director of Design Hosam Habib, AIA. “We take pride in being a firm with this specialized knowledge in healthcare planning as it relates to the VA’s needs, which allows us to create exemplary healthcare facilities and high-quality care for our veterans. Projects like this take a village, and we couldn’t be prouder as a team of what we’ve accomplished.”

In addition to Hoefer Welker (architect) and USFP (developer), the multidisciplinary team includes Jacobsen Construction (general contractor); Smith & Boucher (MEP engineer); Bob D. Campbell & Co. (structural engineer); Dibble Engineering (civil engineer); Protection Engineering Consultants (blast engineers); FSC, Inc. (life safety); ARUP (sustainability consultant and climatic analyst); and Gates + Associates (landscape architect).

Founded in 1996, Hoefer Welker is a multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, technology consultancy and engineering firm known for collaborating with clients to create performance-driven solutions.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Following years of planning, The University of Kansas Health System has begun accepting patients at its new proton therapy treatment center, designed by architecture planning and design firm Hoefer Welker in partnership with Stantec.

One of only about 40 proton therapy centers in the United States, the new facility is the only cancer center to offer this specialized form of radiation treatment throughout Kansas and its surrounding states, including Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Arkansas. Treatment is offered through The University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Construction of the new proton therapy center was done in partnership with Kansas City-based McCownGordon Construction and construction firm Linbeck, based in Fort Worth, Texas. Located in Kansas City, Kan., the facility spans 38,200 square feet.

Supported by Stantec’s proton expertise, Hoefer Welker is now one of a handful of firms in the U.S. with expertise specific to proton therapy treatment. Throughout the design process, the Hoefer Welker team coordinated with physicians and other members of the medical team to determine the needs of patients, families and caregivers. This included a collaborative visioning session that assessed psychological, sociological and physiological impacts on all involved parties as well as goals and success metrics. Using data gathered during the session, Hoefer Welker designed the facility with a focus on clinical flow, calming aesthetics and an improved patient and staff experience.

“Hoefer Welker led the efforts on much of the interior design, finish and ‘feel’ of the new space, working closely with cancer center providers and staff to ensure patient areas were conducive to healing,” said Jeff Wright, VP of Cancer Services for The University of Kansas Health System. “Patients will greatly benefit from this attention to detail as they seek and receive treatment.”

Hoefer Welker’s services for the treatment center included architectural and interior design; furniture, furnishings and equipment (FF&E); clinical space planning; medical equipment planning and construction administration.

The new proton treatment center additionally includes a protective concrete vault to guard against unnecessary radiation. The vault walls are six to nine feet thick and house 160 tons of equipment. Construction of the vault required 2,721 cubic yards of concrete and 377,513 pounds – or 125 pickup trucks’ worth – of steel rebar.

Proton therapy offers a highly specialized and precisely targeted form of radiation treatment using protons – rather than X-rays – to attack tumors. Given the limited availability of proton therapy, many cancer patients have to travel long distances to receive this specialized form of care.

As the region’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center, The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s new proton therapy center allows Midwestern patients to remain close to home, families and much-needed support systems while undergoing treatment.

“We’ve been in a proton desert in Kansas; no one should ever have to leave the state to receive the best cancer care available,” said Dr. Terry Tsue, Physician in Chief and VP of Clinical Services at the University of Kansas Health System. “Patients from all over the region can now receive the highest level of proton therapy closer to home from an unparalleled team of nationally and internationally renowned proton experts.”

“Many cancer patients were traveling across several states to receive this specialized treatment. This understandably causes a lot of stress for the patient, their well-being, and their recovery — as well as emotional and financial stress on their caregivers,” added Hoefer Welker Partner and Healthcare Practice Leader Patrick McCurdy, AIA, NCARB. “The capability to provide this treatment close to home, as well as the needed relief for these patients and their caregivers, is a powerful addition to our community and our region.”

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Hoefer Welker, a Kansas City-based architecture firm, and US Federal Properties (USFP), a Kansas City-based developer, have been selected to provide a new Outpatient Clinic and Domiciliary for the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.

The new campus, developed by USFP and leased to the VA, will consolidate existing mental health and primary care services into a single campus custom-designed to serve the area’s 45,000 veterans. The 173,500-square-foot clinic comprehensive outpatient clinic will feature the VA’s Patient Aligned Pact Care Team (PACT) model of care, which centers on patient-driven, proactive, personalized, and team-based care, and a 28,500-square-foot domiciliary will provide residential rehab and treatment services for homeless veterans. The project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.

The clinic’s architectural and interior design focus on sustainably designed spaces to deliver primary care, mental health services, radiology, optometry, multi-specialty, physical medicine and rehab, audiology and pathology services. Additional features include a large imaging program with MRI, CT and women’s imaging center, as well as substance abuse, homeless and PTSD treatment programs in a home-like setting. Large windows, warm tones and natural elements add to the environment for veterans and their families. Visual continuity between the interior and exterior of the building unifies the design. Similar materials, colors, and proportions will be carried from the main entry, through the lobby atrium and public concourse, and into the patient rooms.

A large atrium creates a strong connection between the first and second floors, and intuitive wayfinding allows the lobby space to act as a central hub. Efficient clinical space layout allows staff to spend more time with patients, protects patient privacy, and minimizes fatigue.

Designed to be integral and connected to the main clinic, the domiciliary features light blues and warm wood tones, adding to the resort-like feel of the space. The patient wings are arranged around a central nurse station allowing for visibility to each patient wing. The nurse station sits under a wood plank ceiling adding warmth to the space, and each patient wing is easily identified by a glass wall treatment with a number, making it easy for patients and staff to navigate.

The project will be built to achieve two Green Globes for New Construction, based on its sustainable, healthy and resilient building design. This holistic approach to sustainability is present in both the building and site through climate-responsive design, high-performance glazing, energy-efficient lighting, water efficiency through native landscapes, and an on-site detention basin.

“Substance abuse and PTSD are growing concerns among our veteran population, with 1 in 5 veterans with PTSD also suffering from substance abuse. Campuses with programs like VA Jacksonville are vital to properly serve and treat those who have served our country,” said Hosam Habib, AIA, Partner and Director of Design at Hoefer Welker.  “This campus will consolidate multiple primary and specialty services, including necessary rehabilitation and treatment services, under one roof to empower the veteran community in the greater North Florida/South Georgia region.”

In collaboration with USFP, which develops, finances, owns and operates federal government-leased properties, Hoefer Welker is leading the architectural and interior design of the new healthcare clinic. This is the seventeenth clinic Hoefer Welker has developed with USFP.

“We’re proud to have partnered with Hoefer Welker on numerous projects across the country, and we’re pleased to soon add another state-of-the-art facility to that esteemed list,” said Rick Baier, Principal, USFP.

In addition to Hoefer Welker (architect) and USFP (developer/owner), the multidisciplinary team includes Meyer Najem Construction (general contractor), Sain Associates (civil engineer), Bob D. Campbell & Co. (structural engineer), Smith & Boucher, Inc. (mechanical engineer), Land3 Studio LLC (landscape architect), FSC, Inc. (life safety), and Protection Engineering (blast engineer).

Founded in 1996, Hoefer Welker is a multi-disciplinary architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, technology consultancy and engineering firm with offices in Kansas City and Dallas.

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