The 35,000 sf School of Nursing is on the Texas Tech Health Sciences campus. It includes 12,000 sf of simulation labs, four classrooms and collaborative learning spaces, with a capacity for 600 students. The school also includes faculty and administration offices, a dean’s suite and student services center. The most unique area is the Baby Café, a center that supports breastfeeding mothers of all ages. The mission to provide such community support is aligned with the School of Nursing’s part in the larger Medical Center of the Americas (MCA). The MCA serves the Paso del Norte region of southern Texas, specifically providing healthcare, education and research for Hispanic and bi-national populations and surrounding military families.

The economic composite steel structural system has lateral bracing for wind and seismic control. Due to the limited site, the self-contained mechanical system is located on the school’s roof. To blend with the surrounding campus architecture, the roof is pitched and finished with clay tiles, which adds additional weight and framing to the roof level. The foundation is deep-drilled concrete piers with first floor slab on grade.