The Kaiser Permanente, Fremont Medical Center campus is comprised of both acute care hospital-based services and ambulatory services located in various medical office buildings. Faced with the need to organize the future development of the combined campus and provide for projected growth needs for both inpatient and outpatient populations, Kaiser Permanente engaged Ratcliff to prepare a Long Term Campus Master Plan.As part of the Master Plan, Ratcliff has undertaken the design of a new 20,000 square foot ED with 33 bays. The new ED will also include a 3,000 square foot imaging department and a 14,000 sf med/surg floor on the 2nd floor.The new ED will have a prominent patient entrance that will serve as a strong “distance read” from the medical center’s main entrance. The entrance is angled to further enhance the location and visual cue for drop off. Primary patient and staff circulation from the existing hospital will be extended across the courtyard on two levels bridging the existing and new ED expansion building with connecting corridors. An accessible landscaped courtyard will also serve as a connection between the old and new buildings. By creating a new ED on the other side of the campus, the existing ED can remain operational until the new ED is completed.The design concept integrates local and regional images such as the surrounding natural landscape, the historic Mission San Jose and the recent influx of tech manufacturing.