The adaptive-reuse transformation opens with East Campus in 2025, with West Campus to follow in 2026, creating a six-building, 1,000,000-square-foot hub for patient-centered care
Acclaimed interdisciplinary design firm HGA announced the October 20 completion of a building on the new Sutter East Santa Clara Care Center, an adaptive-reuse project transforming underutilized technology buildings into a flagship healthcare destination in Silicon Valley. Located in the heart of the Valley’s innovation corridor, Sutter East Santa Clara Care Center is part of Sutter Health’s larger six-building, 1,000,000-square-foot medical center set to open in two phases — East followed by West campus — and reimagines lightweight steel and wood-framed office structures as cutting-edge medical facilities, setting a new standard for accessible, community-focused care.
HGA was engaged to design both the East and West campuses — with the West campus set to open in 2027 — blending a sleek, modern exterior with a patient-centered, hospitality-inspired interior. The East Campus, which opened this month, provides comprehensive primary care alongside specialty services, an ambulatory surgery center, imaging, a regional lab, and urgent care. Organized across 50,000-square-foot floor plates, the building places urgent care, the lab, cardiology, and imaging on the first floor, while the second-floor houses internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics.
Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by an expansive lobby that draws daylight through entryways and a soaring centralized double-height atrium, highlighted by a dimensional hanging sculpture featuring Sutter’s iconic white and teal colors. A centralized waiting space provides diverse seating options in woven and coated, easy-to-clean fabrics that balance comfort, durability and style. Clear wayfinding strategies, standardized layouts, and distinct color schemes for each clinic allow for efficient navigation and improved workflow. Art installations throughout extend the visual narrative throughout the campus, while central circulation paths highlighted by light-toned wood ceilings in light wood tones add warmth. For healthcare staff, all offices and break rooms are thoughtfully positioned along the building’s glass perimeter, ensuring floor-to-ceiling views and natural light throughout the day.
Throughout the adaptive reuse process, HGA addressed complex medical and technical requirements to ensure the facility met the highest standards of care while fostering a cohesive and consistent patient journey. Given the campus’s proximity to a nearby amusement park, the design team collaborated with consultant Salter, Inc. to implement advanced vibration and sound isolation strategies that safeguard sensitive imaging equipment. HGA also collaborated closely with city and fire officials to achieve the necessary fire-safety ratings for the existing lightweight steel and wood-frame structures — a material not commonly seen in healthcare design.
“This project represents more than a building transformation. It created a flagship campus where patients experience care in an environment that feels welcoming, connected and restorative,” said Karva Sykes, Managing principal and project manager at HGA. “Collaborating closely with Sutter Health and our project partners, we reimagined former tech offices into a healthcare hub that seamlessly blends advanced clinical services with the warmth and hospitality of a community space. That shared vision guided every decision and ensured we delivered a facility that truly supports both patients and providers.”
The project was organized via an Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA), a collaborative project-delivery model that united Sutter Health, HGA, general contractor DPR Construction, Southland Inc, ArchKey, Buehler Engineering and HBS under shared goals and risk parameters. This mutual ownership model encouraged early decision-making, eliminated traditional feedback loops between each team, and allowed construction to continue even during permit delays. The team also utilized prefabricated components — another rarity in healthcare projects — such as major interior wall systems, which were constructed offsite to help accelerate the development timeline.
The West Campus will open in 2027. Both campuses are part of Sutter Health’s larger initiative to open 27 new ambulatory surgery centers in Northern California by 2027 to fill a growing need in Silicon Valley, where patients often endure long waits to see a provider. Located less than a mile apart, the new campuses will offer a broad spectrum of services including integrated multi-specialty services, imaging services, cancer services, sports medicine, and an orthopedic ambulatory surgery center.
Sutter East’s Santa Clara Care Center is just one of several hallmark healthcare facilities that HGA completed nationally in 2025. Additional projects in the region include the Sutter Health Santa Clara University Primary Care Clinic and the Child, Adolescent, and Adult Behavioral Health Services Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. In Southern California, HGA created the North Tower at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., which specifically houses 188 in-patient beds, mother-baby services such as labor and delivery, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and a postpartum floor.
About HGA
HGA is a national interdisciplinary design firm committed to making a positive, lasting impact for our clients and communities through research-based, holistic solutions. We believe that great design requires a sense of curiosity—forming deep insight into our clients, their contexts, and the human condition. We are a collective of over 1,000 architects, engineers, interior designers, planners, researchers, and strategists. Our practice spans multiple markets, including healthcare, science and technology, corporate, cultural, education, and local and federal government. Visit HGA.com or follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
HGA Media Contact
Michelle Nelsen, Public Relations Director
mnelsen@hga.com