UCF Lake Nona Medical Center

Overview of the project and space.

Lake Nona’s new 64-bed hospital was established as a partnership between HCA Healthcare and The University of Central Florida (UCF) School of Medicine. Designed with a focus on community integration, expansion, and teaching, the medical center covers an area of 204,079 square feet. The facility adds general surgery, internal medicine, OB/GYN, emergency, pathology, and radiology services on top of the robust children’s hospital and veteran’s hospital already in the area. 

The medical center itself incorporates a library, classrooms, and meeting rooms, offering the perfect integration with UCF’s residency program. The facility is adjacent to UCF's medical school and is screened with decorative walls and landscaping to create an appealing façade, while infrastructure connecting it with UCF's campus and a major thoroughfare has been developed to lay the groundwork for HCA’s vision for Lake Nona Medical Center as the centerpiece of a dense, urban campus.

What was the design vision for the space?

The Lake Nona design team, including ESa Architects and others, carefully considered the current plans for Lake Nona Medical Center and future expansion. To do this, the team incorporated soft office spaces that can be relocated and placed departments projected to multiply along exterior walls. All this and more support future growth that will enable Lake Nona Medical Center to act as a focal point for expansion.

Key design elements of the space include access to daylight, teaching space for student integrations, indoor and outdoor café space, technology integration, and connection between nurses' stations and patient rooms to foster trust and community. 

UCF Lake Nona Medical Center even achieved LEED Silver by featuring electric vehicle charging stations, preferred parking for eco-friendly vehicles, and systems/fixtures that reduce water consumption, among other sustainable design elements.