Kern River Clinic

The Kern River Clinic brings healthcare access to remote central California, where the nearest medical provider is often out of reach. This design proposes an intimate campus of community-focused care spaces balanced by nature paths and secluded areas for meditation to support the health of individuals and the community. Three buildings on-site provide outpatient and inpatient care facilities, on-site staff housing for visiting doctors and nurse practitioners, a community room, and an open-air meditation chapel. These structures are grouped around a central courtyard and gathering space.

Colonnades on the perimeter of the structures support overhangs for long walkways, encouraging moments of pause and reflection. A distinct rhythm on the façade is created through the repetition of heavy timber; this establishes an ordering system commonly seen in the local vernacular as it alludes to the infrastructural expression of nearby bridges and agricultural buildings.