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Architects: Multistudio
- Area: 660000 ft²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Art Gray, Mike Sinclair
Text description provided by the architects. This project is a new 660,000 sf 2,800 employee, purpose-built, corporate campus for Cerner Corporation, a healthcare technology company with its roots deeply planted in the Midwest. The work environment is a reflection of Cerner’s mission: to contribute to the improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities.
Cerner’s health information technology services are geared towards empowering organizations to know, manage and engage their patient populations, with an emphasis on frequent and interactive wellness care. The company’s needs are constantly evolving with the dynamics of the changing business structure surrounding the healthcare industry.
Through Gould Evans’ ongoing relationship with Cerner, we understand that there are multiple cultures within such a large, complex organization, that one size doesn't fit all, and that their needs—the program of this building—will evolve over time. The design responds to these factors with unique spaces that support the company’s values and the flexibility to support evolving working styles.
The campus consists of two eight-story office towers joined by a ‘commons’ one-story base. With every design decision at the new Continuous Campus, consideration was given to the comfort and care for Cerner associates so they can work effectively in a round-the-clock environment.
While the building is active at almost all times of day, special design attention was paid to the “biology” of the ground level of the building. It is conceived of as a place where employees can “Get Well. Manage Well. Stay Well.” The ground level program includes a cafeteria, coffee shop, fitness center, pharmacy, health clinic, globally-connected conference rooms and lounges for training and a dedicated event center, all of which is visually connected to the outdoors, where associates enjoy a different perspective on tech culture than that of Silicon Valley.
The event center, a unique aspect of the facility, consists of a series of video conference rooms and break out spaces that enables Cerner associates to collaborate with clients 24/7, and even to manage the complete IT systems of a healthcare client during an event such as a natural disaster. The design allows ample places to decompress when not 'live' working the event, such as kitchen and lounge spaces adjacent to event rooms.
For a health company that truly believes in a new healthcare model, the connected relationship of diet, exercise, and medical care within the facility is intentional. A tailored fitness and diet program for each employee is coordinated in the campus facilities and can be monitored in the on-site clinic. For Cerner, well care is as important to an individual’s health status as regular checkups, prescriptive meds and an individual’s DNA, and this value is evident in the design of its campus.
A consistent attribute of the program is the duality of space for individual work and group work. Cerner prioritized casual, unreserved team space over traditional conference rooms. The design responds with a variety of impromptu group work spaces located in close proximity to individual work environments. On the upper floors, group work spaces employ writable glass walls as communication devices to make the work visible.
Every floor has enough conference space to hold all its associates at once, and enough flexible space to hold half of the entire floor. The entire campus is wireless, including the exterior courtyard and parking areas, enabling associates to tailor their work environment to their comfort and convenience, and that of their clients.
