Founded in 1888, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center provides care to approximately 4,000 inpatients and handles 71,000 outpatient visits per year. The 12,000-square-foot Knabe Wellness Center and Plaza, marks the first completed project of the five year construction plan. Despite its relatively small footprint on the 212 acre campus, the Center is an integral part of the complex. Offering physical therapy, aquatic therapy, and advanced rehabilitative technologies tailored for patients coping with disabilities such as spinal cord injuries and strokes, the center also functions as a “community gym” encouraging wellness for local residents.Taking advantage of the mild climate, daylight floods into the building through large windows supporting the open campus concept. Connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, the project allows patients to learn to adapt to the external conditions they will face when they leave the hospital by literally opening their doors to the landscape