Mayo Clinic Arizona
Arizona Forward East Expansion
An award-winning project introduces a new era of healthcare excellence.
Mayo Clinic, the largest integrated, nonprofit academic medical center worldwide, is renowned for its relentless pursuit of excellence in healthcare. It boasts an unparalleled record of award-winning patient care, including being top-ranked in more specialties than any other hospital. Recognized by the U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospital rankings for 2023-2024, Mayo Clinic is an Honor Roll member and esteemed as the number one safest teaching hospital in the nation, reflecting its unwavering commitment to patient safety and clinical education.
To address the rising need to treat patients grappling with complex health conditions in the United States’ growing Southwest region, Mayo Clinic has nearly doubled the size of its Phoenix, Arizona campus.
Mayo Clinic’s Arizona Forward project represents the largest and most advanced capital expansion in the organization’s esteemed history. This monumental project added 1.4 million square feet of new construction to the existing 1.7 million-square-foot infrastructure, increasing the number of inpatient beds from 280 to 374.
- 1.4 million
- square feet of new construction
This multifaceted expansion aimed to increase patient capacity and pave the way for future growth involving vertical and horizontal developments. It features a significant three-story, 224,960-square-foot vertical expansion to the clinic and additions to the fourth-floor mechanical penthouse, for which AEI provided engineering design services. The expansion also enhanced the transplant, neurosciences, pulmonary, and regenerative medicine departments and incorporated new floor plates capable of accommodating eight additional floors.
The expansion also featured horizontal growth at the hospital and east cafeteria buildings, expanding the kitchen and servery by 19,500 square feet, with provisions for future expansion integrated into the design. The relocation of the loading dock to the east was a crucial aspect of the project, creating space for a new basement and additional floors while improving truck movement efficiency and supporting compactor and linen services. The expansion grew various emergency departments, notably surgery, which received three new state-of-the-art operating rooms (OR) and allocated shell space for an additional three ORs in anticipation of future needs. To accommodate the additional ORs, the expansion also encompassed 20 new post-anesthesia care units (PACU).
“Patients recognize that Mayo Clinic provides some of the best and safest care in the United States. Growing our facilities in Arizona to accommodate increased demand is essential.”
Mayo Clinic is renowned as one of the nation's top medical schools for research, spanning three world-class university campuses.
- 374
- inpatient beds
Leveraging the Integrated Project Delivery method, the project team’s collaborative approach was crucial in overcoming the challenges of constructing an active hospital and ensuring its timely and cost-effective completion despite commencing amidst the pandemic.
AEI was responsible for the mechanical, electrical, and piping/plumbing (MEP) engineering design for the clinic's vertical expansion, encompassing the additions to the fourth through seventh floors. Notably, the substantial scale of the vertical growth mandated upgrades to numerous MEP systems to adhere to high-rise code requirements.
Providing sustainable design services, AEI's Building Performance Practice analyzed nearly one hundred façade modules to optimize cooling efficiency while maximizing the clinic’s natural daylight. In response to the clinic’s south-facing orientation, a folded façade optimized solar shading and cultivated an energy-efficient environment. Through close collaboration with the envelope trade partner, AEI significantly reduced module costs.
The clinic's exterior showcasing the folded façade to optimize solar shading.
“Mayo Clinic’s presence in Arizona has propelled our state’s health care and bioscience industry, and their enhanced investment is another sign that this industry is thriving. Not only will those of us in Arizona be served by expanded services at Mayo Clinic, but it will further secure Arizona as a global destination for excellence in health care.”
- $130,000
- upfront construction savings
A primary design goal was to enhance panoramic views to the north by incorporating expansive glass sections in waiting areas, offering patients and visitors a seamless connection to the surrounding natural scenery. Thus, AEI assisted in glazing selection, conducting comprehensive comfort, daylighting, and energy efficiency analyses. AEI also explored multiple insulation, connection, and framing options to enhance wall insulation while reducing upfront construction costs by $130,000.
Given construction activities across multiple active patient care areas on the space-limited campus, the project team made continual efforts to mitigate vibrations, maintain sterile environments, and minimize disturbances. The project team adopted a unitized curtain wall skin system to address the clinic's vertical expansion challenges. This system enabled the prefabrication of large sections, streamlining installation, reducing patient care disruptions, and accelerating the construction timeline to expedite patient care delivery.
Mayo Clinic’s east expansion signals a new era of healthcare excellence, poised to meet the burgeoning needs of the growing Phoenix population while maintaining its global reputation as the top-ranked, safest hospital. This expansion enhances patient care, access, and capacity and catalyzes innovation across practice, research, and education programs.
A new exam room featuring circadian lighting that promotes patient and staff well-being and productivity.
“Mayo’s commitment to the health and vitality of Arizona began when we saw our first patient in Arizona more than 30 years ago. Arizona Forward represents our commitment for the next several decades and beyond – innovating to improve the physical health of patients and the economic health of the state we call home.”
- 2,000
- new job opportunities yielded by the expansion
Moreover, this ambitious endeavor generated nearly 2,000 new job opportunities, including recruiting almost 200 additional physicians by 2029, reinforcing Mayo Clinic's commitment to advancing healthcare and economic growth in the region.
Recognizing its pioneering project execution, cohesive team dynamics, and innovative design, the Mayo Clinic Arizona East Expansion won the 2023 ENR National Best of the Best Healthcare Project award.
Project Leaders
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Todd Reust
Principal-In-Charge / Project Manager