SAC Health Brier Campus Adaptive Reuse
SAC Health’s Brier Campus is a 280,000-square-foot former banking call center that now serves as a state-of-the-art outpatient facility. Designated as SAC Health’s flagship location in the Inland Empire outside of Los Angeles, the Brier Campus provides comprehensive primary care, specialty services and a community resource center for underserved populations.
The design-build team leveraged modular design principles—including flexible clinic layouts, streamlined workflows and natural, tactile finishes—to accelerate construction while ensuring adaptability for future growth. The existing building’s open floor plan and structural grid allowed for creative layout solutions, while innovative flooring techniques resolved structural challenges without adding weight or compromising budget. These design strategies allowed the team to accelerate construction, ensure adaptability for future growth and deliver a dignified, community-centered space on time and under budget.
The opening of SAC Health Brier Campus significantly enhances access to healthcare in San Bernardino. Ranked among America’s unhealthiest cities, the community has long endured serious health disparities due in part to unemployment and high rates of poverty. With a mission to expand access to high-quality, patient-centered care, SAC Health developed the Brier Campus facility with Perkins&Will to accommodate 300,000 patient visits in the next five years. The opening of the facility also brings many new jobs to the community, adding more than 200 healthcare and support positions to the local workforce.
The location was intentionally chosen near public transportation to provide easy access to health and social services for all community groups in the area. It is also situated in an active retail corridor offering a range of community functions, dining options, and shopping services.
Adaptive reuse can be challenging, but from the outset it was clear that the existing shell gave our design-build team complete freedom in layout and design, thanks to its vast open floor plan, generous structural grid, and Gurney-sized elevator. Reusing the existing building also saved time, cost, and carbon compared to ground-up construction. This was especially important given the team’s tight 16-month schedule, which they delivered early and under budget.
The key to staying on time was a standardized, modular design approach. This strategy significantly improved speed and coordination by allowing the team to design each clinic module once and replicate it throughout the building. This not only accelerated schematic and design development phases but also simplified construction by reducing variability and requests for information. Long-term, the standardized modules create flexibility within the facility, enabling SAC Health to reconfigure clinics and workflows as community needs evolve over time.
The design concept is rooted in local healing traditions, presenting the project as a “Healing Oasis” where a connection to nature is expressed through a fluid architectural language. Inspired by how water and wind carve tranquil pockets and caves into the nearby San Bernardino Mountains, a similar language shapes the building. Within the preserved shell, an internal volume is carved away, creating forms that evoke movement and echo the region’s healing canyons.
“Transforming a former call center into today’s SAC Health Brier Campus was an incredible opportunity to demonstrate how thoughtful design can directly impact community health,” says Jeffrey Dreesman, our director of medical planning. “Our team focused on creating a flexible, patient-centered environment that not only meets the immediate needs of San Bernardino’s residents but can evolve to serve the community for decades to come. By combining adaptive reuse, modular design and biophilic principles, we aimed to deliver a facility that supports healing, accessibility, and well-being for all who enter.”
Project Team
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