Anshen + Allen believes strong design and healing elements like gardens can improve schools, businesses and health centers.

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With a belief that “good design can transform lives,” Anshen + Allen strives to provide high-quality design and architectural services for healthcare, academic and research buildings. The company says it can consistently deliver quality because its work is primarily “collaborative and contextual.” As a result, it says, the firm’s clients become partners in creating “places that serve important social purposes.” Anshen + Allen says it is “an international practice committed to achieving public architecture of the highest quality. We believe that good design can enrich and transform lives.     

“Our specialist portfolio allows us to focus our energy and talent on efforts that benefit humanity, contribute to community and culture and demonstrate a commitment to social progress. Our buildings perform with great precision, reflect their unique location and exemplify great design.”

The San Francisco-based company believes society cannot afford to not invest in good design. As a result, it says, Anshen + Allen has become an international pioneer in evidence-based design. It says it is committed to quality because good design can contribute to student attainment, staff retention and morale, research efficacy and patient recovery rates.

“New technologies are literally changing the form of treatment spaces, laboratories and classrooms,” the company says. “The challenge for architects is to respond to technological demands and not lose sight of the patient experience.

“Our designs balance the known and the unknown – the sometimes conflicting demands of innovation, value, function and respect for a building’s wider environment. It’s important that we get the balance right.”

Additionally, the company believes interiors can improve the performance of a building in terms of its function. To ensure it delivers interiors that meet or exceed clients’ needs, Anshen + Allen uses an integrated approach to design. The company says this ensures well-designed interiors are fully explored from the outset of the architectural process.

“Our approach is one which puts the user’s experience at the heart of the building’s success,” the company says. “How are spaces for learning, treatment, teaching or social interaction improved by the quality of light, color, acoustic environments, flexibility and materials?

“We consider all these aspects of design thoroughly in order to create environments which are not just functional but also inspirational for people who use them. Humanizing, de-institutionalized, welcoming spaces which enhance the building’s ability to perform in a way that supports our clients’ strategic and cultural objectives.”

Industry Recognition
Anshen + Allen was recently selected to design a new advanced ambulatory services building for Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Medical Center, located in Loma Linda, Calif. The company explains it began partnering with Loma Linda University in 2005 to create an overall comprehensive master plan for the school’s three medical campuses.

The Ambulatory Care Pavilion is the first phase in a 10-year plan to expand patient facilities. The company says the $54 million, four-story, 142,600-square-foot facility will house The International Heart and Vascular Institute, a gastrointestinal/pulmonary outpatient center, outpatient imaging, a café, pharmacy and ancillary support functions.

‘Best’ Company
A reputation for excellence in projects such as this has led to Anshen + Allen being named Top Design Firm as part of California Construction’s Best of 2007 program. The company says it received this recognition for “overall design excellence, contribution to the construction industry and community, and for iconic and significant projects.”

Projects that are currently in construction or have been recently completed in California include the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), Santa Clara Valley Specialty Center and Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center. The company notes its recent project wins in the state include the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center and the SCVMC Hospital Replacement Bed Building.

In 2007, Anshen + Allen also was named one of the Best Architecture, Engineering and Construction Firms to Work For by Building Design+Construction.

Cited for its dedication to the “social impact” of its work, Anshen + Allen says, it was awarded the title for its commitment to evidence-based design, including its role in the establishment of The Center for Healthcare Design; its dedication to sustainability and fostering green practices internally as well as through design; and encouraging its employees to challenge Western perceptions of architecture by traveling abroad through the Patterson Travel Study Fellowship.

The fellowship, the company says, is given annually and allows an employee to take two weeks’ paid leave and up to $3,150 in expenses to travel and pursue self-directed professional study. Winners are selected on the basis of the importance of their subject to the design community, its potential lasting benefit to others, its relevance to the firm’s needs and the applicant’s passion for and commitment to the project.

“[The award] gave me the opportunity to follow a passion for healing gardens and alternative methods of healing based in nature, gardens and horticulture,” said Ian Lawlor, a 2004 recipient who studied healing gardens throughout England. “This forced me to learn more, see more, and then bring it back to the office in order to present what I had experienced and influence others.” He added that his experience encouraged him to push for a healing garden for Alzheimer’s/dementia patients in one of his health center projects.

The firm believes its mission of using its talent for “the betterment of society – to contribute in positive and meaningful ways,” has been a “powerful magnet” that draws socially aware professionals to its offices. “Most people know about us when they come here,” explained Roger Swanson, chairman and CEO, in a statement. “Our experience says that, No. 1, they want to work on exciting problems. Our people are focused on raising the whole tide of healthcare design. It’s important work that resonates with people.”

Anshen + Allen also offers support to community outreach and charitable programs; employees can receive paid time off for civic activities. This year, some of the designers are participating in Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), a program that provides animal companions for AIDS patients and the elderly. PAWS raises money by auctioning off pet habitats designed by local architects. Young members of the firm’s design team are participating, which gives them the opportunity to lead their own projects while raising money for the charity.

Additionally, some members of Anshen + Allen volunteer with organizations in the firm’s neighborhood that assist the homeless, and some are involved with local youth organizations.