Healthcare

A center for healing, harmony, and balance

Echo Cliffs Health Center

The Echo Cliffs Health Center, situated in northern Arizona’s High Desert, brings together modern healthcare technology and traditional indigenous customs. The 125,000sf outpatient health center for Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (TCRHCC) serves the Hopi, Diné, Southern Paiute, and other tribal nations the area. It provides a complete set of outpatient services for the region, including a drive through pharmacy, cafeteria and café, a walking trail around the site, an outdoor physical therapy terrain garden, and more.

Inside and out, our design philosophy for the health center was rooted in the concept of Hózhǫ́, a pivotal term in the Navajo language that embodies peace, beauty—and particularly, balance and harmony. Design for the exterior was conceptualized as a piece of jewelry which enhances the wearer’s beauty. It serves as a subtle but complementary addition to the landscape instead of a competing element. Inside, the building incorporates natural colors, textures, and materials to center traditional values and community needs within the state-of-the-art healthcare space.

The Echo Cliffs Health Center is strategically placed to balance efficient utilization of the site with preservation of the native, desert landscape. The building's positioning shelters visitors from wind and harmonizes with the surrounding terrain, creating a large scale “courtyard” between the structure and surrounding sandstone cliffs. The main patient entrance faces east in accordance with indigenous traditions and the optimism of a new day. It also maximizes morning sun and daylight into the building, without generating unwanted heat gain.

Building performance analysis was implemented at the project’s inception, fostering an iterative design process that brought together artistry, sustainability, customs of the Hopi, Diné, and Southern Paiute nations, and respect for the site’s natural landscape. The project targets USGBC LEED Gold for New Construction, with documentation already in place and an intention to seek certification after completion. Close partnership between our team, TCRHCC, and contractor Arviso/Okland has also been a meaningful aspect of this project. Together, the team has tackled added layers of complexity (and opportunity) including the site’s remoteness and need for new energy and water infrastructure.

To its community, the Echo Cliffs Health Center is more than a building. The project represents a universal struggle faced by tribal nations worldwide: the challenge of preserving cultural identity amid technological evolution. The project broke ground in early 2024 and is set to complete in February 2026.

Client
Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation

Location
Tuba City, Arizona

Size
Over 100,000 sf

Status
In Progress

Disciplines

Beyond the Building