UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building
Located in San Francisco’s burgeoning Dogpatch neighborhood, the Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building houses both outpatient services and research space, bringing together clinicians and researchers from multiple disciplines to address the most pressing needs in psychiatry, psychology, and related fields. In addition to providing state-of-the-art services to Bay Area adults and children, the center is pioneering a more holistic approach to mental health that includes prevention and community outreach, the integration of pediatric and adult medicine with psychiatric care, and the development of novel and improved treatments.
Perkins&Will was the Architect of Record and Exterior Architect, in collaboration with ZGF as Design Architect.
The building’s design and sustainable elements support this holistic approach, providing a positive connection to the community that helps normalize behavioral health care. Its human scale connects the building to the street, and the building materials have been purposefully selected to reflect the texture, color, and character of the neighborhood. A central atrium allows daylight to penetrate deep into the building, maintaining a calming connection to nature, and a new roof deck provides landscaped outdoor space for reflection and celebration.
Exterior glass connects inhabitants to the cityscape beyond and substantial glazing encourages visual transparency on the interior, supporting an open and bright patient experience for a population that has been historically relegated to dimly lit and highly controlled behavioral healthcare spaces.
The 166,000-square-foot facility consists of five floors of clinic, exam, and administrative space and includes an underground garage, MRI facility, 250-seat auditorium, and a small retail space. In addition to the five-story central atrium that brings natural daylight into the heart of the building, the building also features an outdoor terrace that allows doctors and patients to utilize the outdoors for social gatherings, meetings and contemplation.
The building was made possible by a gift of nearly $60 million from philanthropists John and Lisa Pritzker, longtime supporters of UCSF. It is named in honor of John’s sister, Nancy Friend Pritzker, who died by suicide.
Project Team
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