City of Hope Orange County

Cancer care in Orange County once required as many as 20% of cancer patients to travel significant distances to access advanced treatment. To close this gap, City of Hope partnered with HOK and Hensel Phelps on a new 174,000-sq.-ft. cancer specialty hospital—the only one of its kind in Orange County—on City of Hope’s 72-acre specialty medical campus in Irvine.

Design Solutions

The six-story, 73-bed hospital connects directly to the City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, completing a full continuum of inpatient and outpatient cancer services on a single campus. A specialized Evaluation and Treatment Center (ETC) allows patients to receive immediate assessment and care without resorting to a traditional emergency department.

The design takes a hospitality-inspired, human-centered approach to healing. Every patient room is private with ensuite bathrooms, concealed clinical utilities and calming material palettes. Feng Shui design principles throughout the building enhance balance and better serve the hospital’s large demographic of Asian patients. The hospital’s compact footprint and large windows offer scenic mountain views and allow daylight to reach nearly every working space—including procedure and imaging rooms—an unusual achievement in hospital design.

Positive-pressure isolation rooms protect patients with compromised immunity, a critical need in oncology care where treatments such as bone marrow transplants and CAR-T cell therapy can temporarily weaken or eliminate a patient’s immune system. Hospitality suites on each floor give patients well enough to leave their rooms a hotel-style lounge to gather with family, while outdoor terraces on the west facade provide respite for patients and staff at every level. Adaptable furniture—including upright chairs to encourage patient mobility, adjustable recliners and sofas with integrated tables—gives patients and families meaningful choices over their immediate environment throughout what can be extended stays.

Additional amenities include:

• a light-filled, double-height lobby lounge where live piano music sets a welcoming tone
• a stylish café and barista bar complete with inviting outdoor dining
• a thoughtfully curated gift boutique
• a dedicated tech support suite to keep patients and visitors connected and supported during their visit
• an immersive multifaith spiritual care experience that enables patients and their families to choose from a selection of digital environments to support their personal needs

To maintain visual harmony and floor-by-floor connectivity with the adjacent Lennar Cancer Center, the HOK-Hensel Phelps design-build team was challenged to fit complex building systems into lower floor-to-ceiling heights. The hospital honors the architectural vocabulary of the campus while its copper exterior panels and undulating roofline mirror the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains.

Impact

The hospital brings comprehensive inpatient cancer care to Orange County for the first time, completing City of Hope’s $1.5 billion integrated cancer network for the region. Since opening its first Orange County facility in 2020, City of Hope has treated more than 40,000 patients across clinics in the region. With cancer incidence in the county projected to rise 18% between 2018 and 2028, the new facility positions City of Hope to meet growing regional demand—offering advanced treatments including CAR-T cell therapy, transplants, complex surgeries and first-in-human (NIH) clinical trials without requiring patients to leave the region.