Sacred Heart University's new Center for Health Education, located 1.3 miles from the main campus in Fairfield, Conn., reflects the mission of the university to deliver exceptional facilities that inspire staff, students and visitors.

Located at 4000 Park Avenue in Bridgeport, the new Center for Healthcare Education houses state-of-the-art laboratory and classroom facilities in a three-story building on 8.7 acres. The center offers undergraduate programs in nursing, exercise science, health science, geriatric health and speech/language pathology. Among the graduate programs are nursing, athletic training, exercise science and nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech/language pathology. The facility includes athletic training, human performance and motion analysis labs, a life and sport analysis clinic and a multipurpose amphitheater.

The approach to the 120,000-square foot center evokes an immediate sense of arrival, a sense of place and sense of community. The architecture and landscape architecture are interwoven. A main upper plaza receives arriving users and orients them to the main entrance and central atrium. The framework of the design is based on overlapping elliptical shapes, including the planted island in the middle of the shuttle bus drop off area, the pedestrian planted island, the main entry plaza, and a sunken hidden gathering area. A pedestrian plaza entices visitors to the main entry. A water channel, inspired by the water table at the Villa Lante in Italy, leads the eye to a sunken amphitheater and gathering area.