The hospitality industry is the heartbeat of our city. It’s how we live and work and it’s what connects us as Nevadans. The Culinary employees spend their career serving those in the hospitality industry and the new Culinary Health Center was designed to provide a user experience that reflected the hospitality industry within which they work.

The Durango Health Center is a two-story 98,800 square-foot medical office building constructed on 9.21 acres. The site sits adjacent to the UNLV Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. The facility functions as a “one-stop shop” where members can seek medical attention from their primary care provider, pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy, attend to their dental needs, participate in physical therapy, or attend health and wellness classes.

An inviting entry sequence of landscaping and outdoor seating welcomes you, blurring the lines between the exterior and interior. Patients are greeted at the reception area with its large green wall and are guided to a variety of waiting areas which have various types of seating and provide a comfortable, warm environment.

Upon entry, open daylit spaces abound and warm high-level finishes of wood, terrazzo, steel, glass, and tile are found throughout the facility. Exam rooms in the primary care and complex care programs are centered around care-team pods, where access to the exam rooms is available for both team members and patients. Each exam room is furnished with consultation and exam areas to provide a more personal experience for patients.

The building exterior is a mix of glass and steel and is skinned with high performance Taktl rain screen panels to provide a durable, energy efficient building exterior. The expansive porte cochere provides shade and shelter for the culinary members while also presenting a strong sense of entry, paying tribute to its hospitality roots. The canopy is highlighted by an architectural feature dubbed “the DNA screen,” a large skylight above.

The project was completed under an IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) contract which created an incredibly positive team working environment and a project that was brought in under budget and on time, even in these very volatile times. The positive response of the new Durango Center has prompted plans to proceed with construction of a third Health Center in North Las Vegas.