A proper case study on Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. BUILDING: LOU RUVO CENTER FOR BRAIN HEALTH, LAS VEGAS ARCHITECT: FRANK GEHRY

1. CASE STUDY ON
LOU RUVO
CENTER FOR
BRAIN HEALTH
BUILDING: LOU RUVO CENTER FOR BRAIN HEALTH, LAS VEGAS
ARCHITECT: FRANK GEHRY
BY
AABHIKA SAMANTARAY
2020701001
BATCH AB
SAP, ANNA UNIV INTRODUCTIONTO

2. INTRODUCTION
PROJECT BRIEF
CLIENT: KEEP MEMORY ALIVE
OBJECTIVE: TO BUILD A LEADING RESEARCH CENTRE FOR
DEGENERATIVE BRAIN DISEASE.
TARGET AUDIENCES: PATIENTS
COST: est. $100 MILLION
ARCHITECT: FRANK GEHRY
SITE AREA: 85,180 sq ft
BUILT AREA: 60,000 sq ft
STYLE OF BUILDING: DECONSTRUCTIVISM
AR. FRANK GEHRY

3. SITE AND ITS CONTEXT
• Clay, sand and rock-hard caliche make up the
majority of soil types found within the site area.
• In Las Vegas, the summers are sweltering, the winters
are cold, and it is dry and mostly clear year round.
course of the year, the temperature typically varies
38°F to 105°F and is rarely below 30°F or above
• The Las Vegas culture represents "an early, sedentary
adjustment to an ecologically complex coastal
environment." The Las Vegas culture is important
was one of the earliest cultures in South America to
practice agriculture.
Site

4. DESIGN CONCEPT AND
IDEOLOGIES
• The building’s design reflects the two sides of the
brain.
• The free-form south side depicts creativity and
imagination.
• While the stacked cubes on the north represent
logic and reason.
GEOMETRY
The office wing, is not a pure geometric shape but a
jumbled, unsettled collection of boxy forms, stepping back
as it rises and tracing a subtle arc along the streetfront.

5. ABOUT THE STRUCTURE
• Architectural and engineering coordination in the design for
the building development was one of the essential
requirements to carry out the complex structure.
• Engineers used 3D BIM technology for Digital Project and
to design structural steel elements that fit the complex
geometry of the different parts of the project.
• Due to the irregular elevation of the north front of the
clinic, the precise details of the steel structure and
coordination with the architectural requirements was
crucial.
• The cantilevered support structure of the curved grating
created significant challenges and analysis as they had to
accommodate considering lateral seismic and wind forces.
• Eventually all steel connections, most of which were
atypical, had to be designed and manufactured individually.
SECTION ELEVATION

6. Lighting
The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, designed by Frank
Gehry, uses a prefabricated panel system to clad the
exposed steel frame that is used to support the exterior
curved sun shading system for the courtyard. The
structure is clad on the interior of the building.
The building has many environmentally sensitive
features, including:
•Motion sensors in all light switches in the medical
building.
•Climate control in the occupied only the lower 4.50m
Event Center.
•Light sensors that track the sun throughout the day and
react as needed to keep the heat or air conditioning.
•Energy-efficient windows with glass in a semi-opaque
component and four-layer tear resistant material
sandwiched in between.
•The medical building has most of the glass facade facing
north. The structure of the courtyard cover, acts as an
umbrella, “brise soleil” sifting southern light inside the
building.

7. •Stainless Steel tilings
Before giving final shape, stainless steel sheets were
placed in the outer surface of the building, which had been
marked with a grid of white lines. The steel was
measured, manufactured and adapted to overlie or lock
edges to be installed. By machinery was given a
termination “angel hair”, a non-directional finish, random,
diffusing sunlight without glare.
•Waterproofing
The building was coated with a layer of black rubber to
keep it tight. But pierce waterproofing with rivets for
hanging steel shingles leak occurred almost impossible to
detect due to the complexity of the cover. It was expensive
and required a scrupulous analysis, section by section in
an attempt to identify and repair leaks before installation
of the metal roof.
MATERIALS

8. The 100 million USD complex comprises two wings connected by an open courtyard:
a dedicated research center, located at the northern end of the building, and a ‘for-
hire’ event space, dubbed the life activity center, located at the southern end. the four
storey clinic to the north, which holds medical offices, patient rooms and the research
space, is relatively straightforward consisting of a collection of stacked boxes in white
stucco and glass. the office wing, is not a pure geometric shape but a jumbled,
unsettled collection of boxy forms, stepping back as it rises and tracing a subtle arc
along the streetfront.
FUNCTIONALITY

9. STORY
The building which consists of the architects signature
steel forms is a leading research center for degenerative
brain diseases.
after years of refusing to design a building in Las
Vegas, Gehry agreed to design the Cleveland clinic Lou
Ruvo center after forming a bond with founder Larry Ruvo,
a Las Vegas liquor distributor who was compelled to start a
neurological research facility after watching his father, Lou,
struggle with Alzheimer's.
Gehry has his own personal interest in research on brain
disorders. his longtime friend and analyst, the late Milton
Wexler, saw a wife and three sisters-in-law succumb to
Huntington's disease. At Wexler's request, the architect
joined the board of the hereditary disease foundation more
than 30 years ago.
Gehry told Ruvo he’d design the building only if Ruvo
added Huntington's to the list of diseases the new center
would treat and study. The complex further expanded its
offerings when the Cleveland clinic, the multidisciplinary
healthcare research and treatment center in Ohio, reached
an agreement with the Ruvo center to operate the las
vegas facility.
Pioneered by drinks entrepreneur and philanthropist Larry
Ruvo, who lost his own father Lou to Alzheimer's, the
5,600 m2 facility is dedicated to caring for patients with
cognitive brain disorders, supporting their families and
continuing the search for improved treatments.

10. DRAWINGS
PLAN 01 PLAN 02 PLAN 03
PLAN 04 ELEVATION