Medical Center of the Americas - Cardwell Collaborative Building

This state-of-the-art facility, located on 4 acres, is the first in a series of 3 research buildings planned for the Medical Center of the Americas Research Park. The 60,000 sf BRTC will focus on research in trauma, orthopedics, infectious diseases, and other health-related issues poised to move medical breakthroughs from bench to bedside. The space includes office suites, principal investigator offices, laboratories, core bench research facilities, prototype labs, conference center, and collaborative flex areas built for tenant specific needs. Tenants have been identified as: Biomedical Institute of the Americas, including space for biomed start-up companies, wet and dry lab modules, plus PI spaces; and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, including wet and dry lab spaces, bioinfomatics, epidemiology, and a BSL2.

The Cardwell Collaborative building sets the design standard for all future development used on the campus, and in doing so, creates an icon for the city. The MCA Foundation Board had the vision to create a landmark, iconic structure that would announce, to visitors and El Pasoans alike, the arrival of MCA and a look at the future. They also wanted a building that aesthetically expressed and responded to the research being done inside. A series of design charettes and visioning sessions refined the design direction, and a distinctive, modernist, timeless design emerged. The building site, immediately on I-10 in the center of El Paso, is the perfect stage for showcasing a building. Facing due north, with views towards the mountains, the building is a landmark for the campus when traveling East or West on the Interstate. To the south lies the future campus, and beyond that, the medical and higher education campuses of Texas Tech University and University Medical Center of El Paso. The building itself is designed to meet LEED Silver certification, with unique sustainable technology showcased throughout. Materials used were locally sourced and manufactured, and all landscaping consists of native, drought-resistant vegetation.