trent semans center for health education, Duke University School of Medicine

Durham, north carolina

The Trent Semans Center centralizes medical education at the heart of the Duke University Medical Center campus, marking the critical intersection of medical education, practice and science. The state-of-the-art teaching facility transforms the way students and faculty interact with simulation classrooms and flexible, team-based learning environments. Generous social spaces and a rooftop terrace foster opportunities for interaction between medical students, practitioners, researchers and educators.

Large program spaces such as a teaching auditorium form the building’s core, while small group, office and meeting spaces located along the front façade garner natural light and views of the Duke University campus. A monumental staircase connects building levels within a glass-enclosed atrium that allows open circulation between the building’s most used spaces. The design reinforces connections to nature with daylighting and sweeping views throughout. Outdoor garden spaces and landscaping borders the main campus Esplanade with a terraced bio-retention rain garden for storm water treatment.

As the first new campus facility fully dedicated to medical education since 1930, the architecture redefines the school’s identity with a vibrant image appropriate to the paradigm-shifting program.