PHOENIX, AZ — Creighton University, joined by donors, dignitaries, members of the community, Plaza Companies, and representatives from RDG Planning & Design, recently marked the grand opening of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Health Sciences Building on Creighton University’s Phoenix campus. The campus, which broke ground in spring 2019, marks a significant expansion of the university’s presence in Arizona and its commitment to meeting the growing need for health care professionals across the country. RDG designed the project in collaboration with Butler Design Group and Plaza Companies.

Located along Central Avenue in Midtown Phoenix, the health sciences campus reflects the mission of the Health Education Alliance by improving and expanding current health education programs to increase the number of physicians and other health professionals in Arizona. RDG’s design team took inspiration from Creighton’s education ethos, “Cura Personalis” (care for the whole person), to create spaces that emphasize occupants’ physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. The design uses active learning spaces and simulation labs to engage the mind, interconnecting staircases to promote physical movement, and natural views, daylighting, and open communal spaces to support emotional and social health.

“Creighton University’s health science campus incorporates evolving teaching styles and encourages collaboration between departments, defining it as a state-of-the-art facility where new paradigms in health care can emerge,” said RDG Principal Joe Lang, AIA. “We were honored to collaborate on the design for this facility in support of Creighton’s goal to prepare the most practice-ready health care professionals in the region and across the nation.”

The seven-level Health Sciences Campus will enroll with nearly 900 students, including future physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, pharmacists, and physician assistants by 2025. Sustainable design elements, including a high-performance façade and outdoor well-being spaces, respond to the natural surroundings to enhance the learning environment and emphasize collaborative pedagogy.

“The campus is a leading-edge learning, clinical simulation, and community engagement space that will be the academic home for nearly 900 learners by 2025,” said Catherine Todero, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, College of Nursing Dean and Vice Provost of Health Sciences Campuses. “With the opening of the health sciences campus in Phoenix, combined with the health programs offered at the Omaha campus, Creighton is the nation’s largest Catholic health professions educator.”