2025 Southwest Best Projects
Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research: University of New Mexico College of Nursing and Public Health Excellence Building
University of New Mexico College of Nursing and Public Health Excellence Building
Albuquerque
Award of Merit
Submitted by Dekker
Owner UNM Health Sciences Center
Lead Design/Structural Engineer/Landscape Architect Dekker
General Contractor Enterprise Builders Corp.
Civil Engineer High Mesa, a Bowman Company
MEP Engineer Bridgers & Paxton
Consulting Architect RDG Planning & Design
Advanced design and collaboration tools played a critical role in the construction of a nearly 94,000-sq-ft facility in the midst of the pandemic. An added complexity was the integration of two academic units, each with their own leadership, priorities and vision.
Construction manager at-risk project delivery helped align budget and schedule, manage supply chain volatility and inform sequencing and systems coordination, contributing to the $36-million project’s on-budget delivery.
The building meets the nursing profession’s current and emerging training, research and collaboration needs, while spaces focused on public health promote collective efforts to improve and expand access to health care.
Features include flexible classrooms and a 4,500-sq-ft laboratory suite that includes dedicated rooms for microscopy, cell culture and computation, with efficient workflows supported by elevator-adjacent placement.
Offices are positioned away from exterior walls to share daylight equitably, while glazed doors and sidelights extend this natural light into corridors and other shared spaces.
Other features include common areas with flexible seating, a three-story open stair to promote walking, lactation facilities and gender-neutral restrooms.
The building's south- and west-facing windows were minimized to avoid solar heat gain, and stainless-steel mesh was used as a shading device to reduce the amount of direct heat gain while still allowing for clear visibility.
