NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL NATIVE HEALTH BUILDING

As one of the first buildings at the new Fitzsimons Innovation Campus in Aurora, this facility provides effective teaching, research, and learning spaces for the American Indian and Alaska Native Program, Public Psychiatry and the TeleHealth / TeleEducation departments, while reflecting the Native American culture of the people that the programs serve.

Serving Native Americans across the U.S. and as far away as Alaska, the building offers state-of-the-art remote support for physical and mental health training, education, and consultation. Cultural symbolism and nature define the visual elements, building materials, and shape of the building, drawing on the architectural heritage from three diverse groups of Native Americans: the window shapes and building mass recall the southwest building tradition; the rotunda and fabric elements reflect the plains tribal cultures; and the exterior log structures represent the Alaska Native tradition. Specific symbology and design patterns include circles, representing the dwelling place created by the Great Spirit for all people, the medicine wheel, tribal designs, plants and animals, earth and sky, and the significance of north, south, east, and west.