The Patient-Centered Care Learning Center (PCCLC) serves the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s (SOM) mission to educate students to provide patient-centered care in problem based learning spaces. The PCCLC includes an anatomy lab, an active learning classroom, clinical simulation rooms, problem-based learning classrooms, and student seminar rooms as well as a host of support spaces including offices and student lounge areas. The SOM’s focus on patient-centered care defined the design, which includes improved daylight quality, access to views of campus, more generous amenities for students, and an enhanced focus on collaboration among students, faculty, and staff.

The mission to educate students to provide patient-centered care is realized in the 32 problem-based learning classrooms on levels 5 and 6. In each classroom humanity is emphasized with images of Missourians overlaid on the glass door, each with individual stories. The creative collaboration with the School of Journalism incorporated works of professional photojournalists from the Missouri Photo Workshop to create the artistic installation.

The elevator lobbies feature reclaimed Missouri walnut wood. The unique topography of Missouri rivers is carved into the wood. The medical school recognized metaphorical and visual parallels between rivers and human cardio vascular systems. The building incorporates recycled stone that originated from Carthage, Missouri and other resources that connect the future of medical education with the history and locale of the State.