UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center
La Jolla, Calif.     
Award of Merit

Owner: UC San Diego Health System
Lead Design Firm: CannonDesign
General Contractor: Kitchell Contractors Inc.
Civil Engineer: BWE Inc.
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
MEP Engineer: exp Services Inc.
Subcontractor: The Raymond Group


During construction, the UC San Diego campus expansion was Southern California’s largest ongoing health care project and the second-largest in state history. The work included three new specialty centers and 245 beds in the 12-level tower; a resource-conserving central plant; and renovations to existing space. One of these centers, the intraoperative MRI and CT, is the nation’s first.

Driven by an innovative project delivery method, the contract actively engaged the hospital board of directors. The project team also provided a foam mock-up facility to eliminate costly intermediate room modeling.

Delivered in November 2016, the curvilinear center features a design-assist curtain wall with 1,300-plus unique units and 8,000 tons of steel. The patient rooms incorporate high-quality millwork, prefabricated headwalls and a smart wall with entertainment and teleconferencing capabilities.


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