The Butterdome, the Physical Activity and Wellness Centre, and the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium have prescribed the University of Alberta campus and its periphery a strong architectural track record. The eye-catching Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, produced under a partnership between the University and Alberta Health Services, transformed another soulless surface parking lot into a hub for healthcare education and research, with a colourful and arresting design to boot.

Edmonton Clinic Health Academy under construction in August 2010, image by Flickr user Kurt Bauschardt via Creative Commons

The image above was taken in August 2010 and shows a ballet of cranes dancing above 114 Street NW. A year later, the building was complete, revealing its multi-toned facade to the public. Thanks to its rainbow cladding, the pediatric patients in the hospital across the street have likened it to a Lego block. The exterior colour palette — transitioning from cool hues in the south to warmer tones in the north — is replicated indoors as an orientation measure, where strategic colour coding of lockers and gathering spaces matches the pattern outside. An indoor 590-foot-long corridor, dubbed the "main street" by the design team, also runs along each floor. 

Edmonton Clinic Health Academy in May 2013, image by Flickr user Peter Macdonald via Creative Commons

Designed by HOK and Stantec Architecture, with DIALOG and CH2M HILL's Yolles tackling the structural challenges, the 578,000-square-foot facility brings 12 health science departments and schools from six faculties under one roof. The elongated six-storey building stretches across a property equal in size to two football fields. Multiple light wells and a consistently glazed exterior, horizontally accented by a spectrum of colour, ensures that the interiors are awash with natural light. A system of brise soleils and reflectors regulate the sunlight, while a green roof and native vegetation diminish stormwater runoff and irrigation needs.

Edmonton Clinic Health Academy under construction in March 2011, image by Flickr user Darren Kirby via Creative Commons

The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy has collected a myriad of awards since its completion, earning the Certification of Building Excellence and the TOBY Award from BOMA Edmonton. The Consulting Engineers of Alberta bestowed the Award of Excellence in the Building Engineering category to the development, which was considered in conjunction with the adjacent Kaye Edmonton Clinic.

The finished complex, image retrieved from Google Street View

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