Tarzana, California (Oct. 2, 2023) – Global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will today announced the completion of the Friese Family Tower, a new five-story, 200,000-square-foot patient facility located at the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center. On Sunday, October 1, the Friese Family Tower opened its doors for patients living in and around the San Fernando Valley, marking a major milestone in the health care provider’s Tarzana Reimaged expansion and renovation project.  

“For the past 50 years, we’ve provided world-class care to residents of the San Fernando Valley, an achievement made possible through the combined efforts of our community,” said Nick Lymberopoulos, chief executive at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center. “The Friese Family Tower will not only advance our legacy in providing high-quality service close to home, but it will also further our ability to treat more patients in a modern, high-tech environment where comfort is at the forefront of design.”  

In 2015, Perkins&Will submitted a master plan for the Tarzana Reimaged project, which officially launched two years later at 18321 Clark Street in Tarzana. The firm serves as the design architect for the project, working with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., which serves as the contractor. 

“Our mantra for this project has been ‘Calm and Comfort,'” said Russell Triplett, managing principal of the Tarzana Reimaged project and associate principal with Perkins&Will’s Los Angeles studio. “Keeping patients, their families, clinicians and staff in mind, we set out to design a facility capable of providing the highest quality patient-centered care in a safe, secure and serene setting.” 

The Friese Family Tower includes 150 private rooms; an expanded emergency department that can accommodate twice as many patients; a new pharmacy with a pneumatic tubing system; a pediatric unit with a playroom for young patients and a dedicated room for adolescent patients; and specialized cardiovascular, critical care and progressive care units. Visitor waiting rooms are located on each floor of the new facility with recliners and sleeper sofas available in each patient room. A connective theme of nature enlivens the space, epitomized by a central healing garden that serves as a place of respite for both staff and patients.  

To further elicit feelings of calm and comfort throughout the Friese Family Tower, cool tones of blue and green strategically envelop the building’s interior, complementing an abstracted curved petal design and art crafted by local artists to create a welcoming healing environment for patients and visitors.  

Major utilities serving the campus needed to remain in service during construction, which required strategic coordination and management to achieve. “Careful planning with the Providence and Cedars-Sinai teams enabled us to innovatively route existing utilities over the roofs of buildings to avoid disrupting patient care,” said Eric Brossy de Dios, senior project manager and associate principal with Perkins&Will Los Angeles. 

The Friese Family Tower introduces several new sustainability features to the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center including energy efficient lighting and controls; the implementation of a heat recovery chiller to utilize waste heat for air conditioning, eliminating an entire boiler; low water use throughout the site’s landscaping; and more. 

Construction for the next phase of the Tarzana Reimaged project is underway. In the months ahead, Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center will open a renovated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and new diagnostic and treatment (D+T) building. This final phase of the Tarzana Reimagined project will double the number of D+T operating rooms to expand in-and-out-patient surgical services to the community. 

“Bringing a project of this magnitude to life has unlocked new opportunities to support and provide care to communities within the San Fernando Valley and beyond,” said Richard Marshall, managing director of Perkins&Will Los Angeles. “We are excited to see the doors open and welcome in patients to this new and modern health care facility. This is one of the largest and most complicated adaptive reuse/new extension hospital projects in California. It’s a credit to our client, to our team and to many other partners that patients are occupying the hospital this October.”   

About Perkins&Will 

Perkins&Will, an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm, was founded in 1935 on the belief that design has the power to transform lives. Guided by its core values—design excellence, diversity and inclusion, living design, research, resilience, social purpose, sustainability, and well-being—the firm is committed to designing a better, more beautiful world. Metropolis named Perkins&Will “Firm of the Year” in 2022 for its industry leadership in advancing climate action and social justice. Fast Company named Perkins&Will one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture three times, and in 2021, it added the firm to its list of Brands That Matter—making Perkins&Will the only architecture practice in the world to earn the distinction. With an international team of more than 2,000 professionals, the firm has over 20 studios worldwide, providing integrated services in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, and landscape architecture. Industry rankings consistently place the firm among the world’s top design practices. Partners include Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen; retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; and luxury hospitality design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.