The new Group Health Bellevue Medical Center is the flagship facility serving the Group Health membership of east King County in western Washington state. Based in nearby Seattle, Group Health is a nonprofit healthcare system that offers medical coverage and healthcare services throughout the Pacific Northwest.

A primary objective of the planning process for the new facility was to promote operational changes that would generate efficiencies and create a superior patient environment. As such, the visioning sessions with the client focused on how Group Health wanted the medical center to function rather than on the building itself.

 

All photographs by Benjamin Benschneider Photography

 

Designed to accommodate up to 1,000 patients and 125 physicians, the 200,000-square-foot, four-story medical center houses outpatient practices for Group Health physicians in more than 20 specialty areas, including cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, physical therapy, ophthalmology, dermatology, oncology, and women’s health. The center also features a 26,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and provides diagnostic imaging, laboratory and pharmacy services as well as a retail store for home medical products.

Located on the Overlake Hospital Medical Center campus, the medical center has a direct pedestrian tunnel connection to the 104-bed Overlake South Tower inpatient facility and emergency department for Group Health members requiring inpatient or emergency care. Parking is provided for 680 cars in a four-story garage below the building.

Two entries provide access to the building along the east side. The entry to the north provides access to the urgent-care service, while the southern entry accesses the main public elevators. A soaring two-story glass-enclosed great room along the south side of the building forms a dynamic gathering space. Visitors and staff have access to the landscaped gateways and to an exterior, elevated plaza on the south side of the building.



This challenging project had to be designed in close cooperation with the City of Bellevue as they developed the applicable design standards for the newly established medical district zone, and in constant collaboration with the design team for the Overlake South Tower and with the city and state departments of transportation teams that were designing a new street and highway overpass dividing the Group Health facility and the Overlake South Tower.

Working with senior Group Health team members, the Ellerbe Becket-NAC|Architecture team developed a modular clinic design that provides daily flexibility in clinical assignment, clarity in patient treatment, and easy conversion to meet future needs. Based on a large universal exam room designed to strengthen the connection between patient and staff, the clinic module has been adopted as the standard for all future Group Health development.

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