Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes

The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes is an outpatient clinic and research facility for children, adults, and families with Type I diabetes. The Center is a translational research facility serving two primary programs; clinical care and research and interdisciplinary biosciences research labs focused on diabetes. The new Center sits at the heart of the Anschutz Medical Campus, framed by a greenspace that serves as the campus arrival point.

Throughout the design of the Center, the emphasis on the children, young adults, and families served was a central focus. The design team worked carefully to reconcile interior environments that would resonate with children while creating an overall building image that relates to the existing campus vernacular and the significance of the work being done inside the facility.

The design of the building creates an iconic exterior building image that strategically uses window placement and daylighting. The design of the exterior of the building responds to the campus’s primary architectural precedent, an historic Army hospital. Masonry, limestone, and metal façade materials blend with the existing campus palette. The interiors provide a less-formal counterpoint; the building is entered from a long, daylit, two-story gallery along the east. In the morning, the warm birch walls glow in sunshine. Natural materials and earth-tones used throughout the building make the experience for children, young adults, and families coming to the clinic as comfortable and stress-free as possible.