Edie and Lew Wasserman Building

Location: Los Angeles Project Type: Academic Campus, Hospital, Research Lab

Client: University of California, Los Angeles LEED Rating: Gold Awards: 2014 AIA-CC Honor Award

The Edie and Lew Wasserman Building at UCLA Medical School, designed by Richard Meier and Partners, transformed the Jules Stein Eye Institute. Setting up a strong relationship between architecture and landscape, the new research and patient-care facility frames an outdoor room to unify the existing architecture of the Institute. To distinguish the sophisticated architecture of the Wasserman Building, a restrained approach was taken in the design of the landscape. Since many visitors are sight impaired, one of the most notable aspects of the design is the care taken to engage one’s sense of sound and smell. Gathering spaces are nestled into the space to allow for staff and patients to retreat from the daily stress of the medical facility.