Valley Children's Founder's Plaza
Healthcare administrative building prioritizes wellbeing and flexibility
Understanding what drives the need for change
Valley Children's faced a significant consolidation challenge when bringing together staff from multiple locations into their new 45,000-square-foot Founder's Plaza administrative building in Madera, California. The healthcare organization needed more than just office space—they required an environment built on Well Building principles that would actively support human health and wellbeing while fostering collaboration across departments that had previously worked in isolation.
The primary challenge centered on creating comfortable, flexible workspaces that balanced openness with privacy and security requirements. Leadership wanted both interior and exterior collaborative areas that would give employees genuine choice and control over how and where they worked. Beyond functionality, the space needed to maintain Valley Children's established brand identity while achieving a sophisticated corporate aesthetic with high-end materials that would reflect the organization's commitment to excellence in healthcare.
How we brought the vision to life
Tangram's solution focused on maximizing natural light as a foundation for employee wellbeing, implementing an extensive exterior glass curtainwall system paired with Steelcase V.I.A. and Lite Scale modular glass walls throughout the two-story steel frame structure. This glass-forward approach flooded workspaces with daylight while maintaining the acoustic privacy essential for administrative work through carefully selected high-performance glazing systems.
The team took a deeply collaborative approach, working directly with each department to understand their specific workflow needs and preferences. This granular understanding informed the design of flexible work environments that offered genuine choice, from quiet focus areas to dynamic collaboration zones. Tangram was entrusted with selecting all furniture finishes, ensuring seamless integration with SmithGroup's overall design aesthetic while maintaining strict adherence to Valley Children's brand standards and the sophisticated materiality expected in a corporate healthcare environment.
3 solutions from 1 manufacturers
Amia
The Amia chair was designed by Steelcase, in collaboration with industrial designer,Thomas Overthun of IDEO. “Innovations such as the LiveLumbar™ mechanism have been incorporated into the overall shape rather than made explicit on the chair’s outside. Technology quietly serving, rather than drawing attention to itself, seemed appealing in the context of today’s information overload. This, combined with an attention to detail and materials, allowed us to realize Amia’s calm and refined design.” — Thomas Overthun
V.I.A.
V.I.A. is Vertical Intelligent Architecture that not only defines space, but redefines the role vertical real estate plays in today's workplace.
Amia
The Amia chair was designed by Steelcase, in collaboration with industrial designer,Thomas Overthun of IDEO. “Innovations such as the LiveLumbar™ mechanism have been incorporated into the overall shape rather than made explicit on the chair’s outside. Technology quietly serving, rather than drawing attention to itself, seemed appealing in the context of today’s information overload. This, combined with an attention to detail and materials, allowed us to realize Amia’s calm and refined design.” — Thomas Overthun
4 professionals brought this vision to life
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