The design team, comprising of architects from Omaha’s Leo A Daly and partners NBBJ, have created the designs after consulting veterans and the hospital’s neighbours. The Architects have displayed computer images of the plans on a movable screen around offices, workspaces and patient areas to fit each department’s needs.
The replacement facility, which will be built in the parking lot of the current VA Medical Center, is planned to be a four-storey building with an area of one million square feet. The new building will feature a glass atrium running the length of the curved hospital building that will act as the hospital’s central spine and will be its visual centrepiece.
Design plans position the hospital to maximise heating from the sun, a feature that is expected to help the facility use 30% less energy as per the VA mandate. The new hospital’s design is also aimed at reducing medical errors and focuses on convenience and accessibility. The in-patient rooms in the new hospital will provide views of therapeutic gardens, the Field Club golf course and downtown Omaha. The new building will also provide increased space for women’s healthcare and mental health services.
Plans include retention of four of the smaller buildings on the current campus including one housing a dental clinic. The current hospital will be demolished and green space and a memorial to the region’s veterans are proposed for the site.
Construction of the facility is expected to commence in 2013 with completion scheduled for 2018.
