Duda|Paine Architects and VMDO Architects collaborated on the Student Health & Wellness Center for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Student Health & Wellness Center expands the functions of a traditional student health center by combining clinical services, academic programs, health promotion, and wellness spaces into one destination attuned to whole student well-being. The project is part of the University of Virginia’s new Brandon Avenue precinct, a mixed-use neighborhood organized around a network of pedestrian paths and visionary green infrastructure between the campus’s historic Academical Village and the Health System Campus.

Students and staff visiting various departments in the building share a light-filled, multi-story lobby, creating easy access and harmony between the outreach programs and physical and mental health services.

The design encourages a sense of community with flexible social interaction and individual contemplation areas. Interior finishes, lighting, furnishings and colors create an environment more like home than traditional clinical spaces. The building also meets the highest air and water quality standards while providing abundant exterior views of nature and the mountains beyond. Students can easily engage with public programs on the building’s ground floor, including the pharmacy, multi-purpose space, teaching kitchen and living room.

Sustainable design is critical to creating a sense of well-being. The Student Health & Wellness Center achieved 2-Star Fitwel and LEED v4 Silver Certification. As stewards of the environment, all members of the design, construction and management team strived to deliver the most environmentally responsive facility within the project budget.

Design: Duda|Paine Architects and VMDO Architects
Photography: Lincoln Barbour