Category: Synergy Architecture Studio

Synergy Architecture Studio’s Work on the First Ambulatory Outpatient Cardiovascular Surgery Center in Minnesota

As healthcare systems across the country continue to advance toward outpatient care models, cardiovascular medicine is undergoing a profound transformation. Procedures that once required hospital admission are now being safely and efficiently performed in ambulatory settings—driven by new technology, evolving clinical protocols, and a patient‑centered focus on experience and recovery.

At the forefront of this transformation is Synergy Architecture Studio, which recently completed the design of the first Ambulatory Outpatient Cardiovascular Surgery Center in Minnesota in collaboration with SCA Health, Allina Health, and Minneapolis Heart Institute. The project represents a significant milestone: the creation of a purpose‑designed outpatient environment capable of supporting complex cardiovascular procedures traditionally housed within acute‑care hospitals.

Allina Health MHI Surgery Center is on the fourth‑floor of Centennial Lakes Medical, a multi‑tenant medical outpatient building in Edina, MN that integrates two state‑of‑the‑art cardiovascular (CV) procedure suites with highly specialized clinical, imaging, and recovery spaces. Through its carefully orchestrated blend of efficiency, safety, and human‑centered design, this facility demonstrates the evolution of cardiovascular care delivery, setting the standard for what CV care will come to look like in Minnesota and beyond.

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A Vision Guided by Clinical Leadership

From the earliest stages of planning, Synergy worked side‑by‑side with operational and clinical leadership, including Stacy Acketz, CEO of the Surgery Center, whose hands‑on involvement helped shape the facility’s vision from concept through execution.

“Designing a cardiovascular surgery center is not just about rooms and equipment—it’s about anticipating workflows, risk mitigation, and patient confidence from the moment someone enters the space,” Acketz noted during the planning phase. Her insights into patient experience, staff efficiency, and long‑term operational scalability were critical in guiding design decisions throughout the project.

This collaborative approach—bringing together Synergy’s healthcare design expertise, SCA Health’s national ambulatory platform, Allina Health’s clinical leadership, and MHI’s cardiovascular experience—ensured the facility aligned with best‑in‑class standards while remaining adaptable for future advancements in care.

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Designing Within an Existing Building Envelope

One of the project’s defining challenges was its location within a fourth‑floor, multi‑tenant medical building. Unlike ground‑up hospitals or single‑tenant surgery centers, this environment required meticulous coordination across structural, mechanical and life‑safety systems, while maintaining uninterrupted operations for neighboring tenants.

Synergy approached the project with a deep understanding of adaptive reuse and vertical healthcare design. Structural capacity was evaluated early to support heavy imaging equipment, lead shielding, and specialized surgical infrastructure. Mechanical systems were carefully zoned to meet cardiovascular air change requirements, pressure relationships, and redundancy expectations—all within the constraints of an existing building core.

Strategic planning also addressed patient and staff movement. Separate circulation paths for clean supplies, soiled materials, patients, and staff were implemented to support infection control, privacy, and efficiency—an especially critical consideration in cardiovascular surgery settings.

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Two CV Procedure Suites, Purpose‑Built

At the heart of this first‑of‑its‑kind Minnesota facility are two cardiovascular procedure suites, designed to accommodate a wide range of outpatient CV interventions. Unlike traditional operating rooms, CV suites require a unique integration of imaging, surgical readiness, and sterile technique—blurring the lines between cath lab, hybrid OR, and ambulatory surgery space.

Synergy worked closely with clinical teams to define ideal room dimensions, ceiling heights, equipment clearances, and future‑proofing strategies. The suites were designed to support advanced imaging systems, booms, and anesthesia workflows while maintaining flexibility for evolving technologies.

Support spaces—including pre‑op, post‑anesthesia care, equipment storage, and staff work areas—were positioned to minimize travel distances and improve response times, allowing clinicians to focus on what matters most: patient care.

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The Unique Challenges of CV Surgical Center Design

Designing a cardiovascular surgical environment presents a distinct set of challenges compared to other ambulatory facilities.

Higher Acuity in an Outpatient Setting

CV patients often present higher medical risk, requiring fast access to emergency protocols, enhanced monitoring, and robust recovery environments—all within a non‑hospital footprint.

Advanced Imaging and Infrastructure

Large imaging equipment demands structural reinforcement, vibration control, electrical redundancy, and precise coordination across disciplines.

Strict Regulatory and Life‑Safety Requirements

Cardiovascular spaces must adhere to elevated standards for airflow, sterile environments, shielding, and life‑safety systems, particularly when located within shared buildings.

Patient Confidence and Experience

Patients undergoing heart‑related procedures often arrive with heightened anxiety. Thoughtful architectural design plays a vital role in creating calm, intuitive, and reassuring environments—from daylight access and acoustics to wayfinding and privacy.

Synergy addressed these challenges by combining technical precision with intentional design strategies that support both clinical excellence and emotional well‑being.

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Designing for Patients, Staff, and the Future

Beyond technical requirements, the design emphasizes a welcoming, hospitality‑inspired atmosphere that reflects the surgery center’s commitment to excellence. Natural materials, warm lighting, and clear visual cues help ease patient stress and promote a sense of trust.

Equally important is staff experience. Efficient layouts, clear sightlines, and strategically placed support spaces reduce fatigue, improve communication, and enhance safety—key factors in high‑performance cardiovascular environments.

Flexibility was embedded throughout the design. Spaces were planned with adaptability in mind, allowing the center to evolve as procedures, equipment, and care models continue to advance.

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Setting a New Benchmark in Minnesota Outpatient Cardiovascular Care

As the first Ambulatory Outpatient Cardiovascular Surgery Center in Minnesota, this project sets a new benchmark for how complex heart care can be delivered safely, efficiently, and compassionately outside of traditional hospital settings.

For Synergy Architecture Studio, the project reflects the firm’s continued expertise in healthcare design and its ability to navigate complex renovations, high‑acuity clinical programs, and collaborative partnerships.

As outpatient cardiovascular care continues to expand nationwide, this center stands as a model—demonstrating that with the right vision, leadership, and design approach, even the most advanced surgical environments can thrive in an ambulatory setting.

2025 was a transformative year for Synergy Architecture Studio as our healthcare practice aligned with some of the most significant shifts the industry has seen in a decade. Healthcare systems continued to evolve rapidly, and our work rose to meet that momentum — blending research, empathy, and innovation to create environments that support healing in a changing world. This year reaffirmed our belief that thoughtful design is a powerful form of care.

Designing for a New Era of Care Delivery

Healthcare delivery models continued to diversify in 2025, and our projects reflected that shift. We saw a growing demand for flexible, modular spaces that adapt to fluctuating patient volumes, new technologies, and evolving clinical workflows. Universal exam rooms, acuity‑adaptable patient spaces, and plug‑and‑play infrastructure became essential tools in our design vocabulary.

A major milestone this year was the completion of design and the start of construction on the Osceola Medical Center remodel and expansion, a transformative project for a rural hospital campus serving a broad regional community. This effort embodies the future of rural healthcare, creating a more efficient, patient‑centered environment while strengthening access to essential services close to home. The project integrates modernized clinical spaces, improved circulation, and expanded service lines, all while honoring the character and needs of the community it serves.

Human‑Centered Environments Rooted in Wellness

One of the most powerful trends of 2025 was the continued rise of biophilic and restorative design in healthcare. Natural light, views to nature, and calming materials played a central role in our work, helping reduce stress and improve patient outcomes.

Outpatient care also expanded dramatically across our portfolio. Our ambulatory and specialty care projects embraced the trend toward distributed, community‑based care, creating environments that are efficient, intuitive, and welcoming; spaces that feel less like institutions and more like places of support.

Behavioral health environments were another major focus. We applied trauma‑informed design principles — safety, choice, transparency, and empowerment — to create spaces that support emotional well‑being while maintaining the necessary levels of protection and privacy. These environments demonstrated that healing spaces can be both secure and deeply humane.

Technology‑Forward, Future‑Ready Facilities

Technology integration accelerated across the healthcare sector in 2025. Our designs anticipated this shift by embedding digital infrastructure, telehealth‑ready spaces, and smart building systems that enhance both patient experience and operational efficiency.

AI‑supported diagnostics, virtual care pods, and real‑time location systems (RTLS) influenced everything from room layouts to circulation patterns. Rather than treating technology as an add‑on, we treated it as a core design driver — shaping environments that are ready for the next generation of care.

Sustainability and Resilience as Standard Practice

Sustainability took on new urgency in 2025, and Synergy Architecture Studio responded with a deeper, more holistic approach to environmental stewardship. We continued to integrate low‑carbon materials, high‑performance envelopes, and energy‑efficient systems, but this year we also expanded our focus to include ecological health and biodiversity.

A standout initiative was the incorporation of bee hives and native planting strategies into three major healthcare projects — Lakeville Medical, Eagan Specialty Center, and Xchange Medical. These landscapes do more than beautify a site; they restore pollinator habitats, support local ecosystems, and create healing outdoor environments for patients and staff. By pairing native plantings with managed hives, these campuses now serve as living demonstrations of how healthcare facilities can contribute to environmental resilience.

Resilience planning also remained a priority. Climate‑responsive site strategies, redundant power systems, and adaptable mechanical zones helped ensure that our facilities are prepared for both immediate disruptions and long‑term environmental change.

A Team Driven by Purpose

Within our studio, 2025 was a year of growth and shared learning. We expanded our healthcare expertise, welcomed new voices, and invested in research that deepened our understanding of patient experience, staff well‑being, and emerging care models. Our team’s passion fueled every milestone, from early concept sketches to final occupancy.

Stepping into 2026, we carry forward a renewed sense of purpose. The healthcare landscape will continue to evolve, and Synergy Architecture Studio is ready to evolve with it, designing spaces that are flexible, compassionate, technologically advanced, and deeply human.

We are also expanding our geographical project footprint, beginning with a new ambulatory surgery center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This project marks an exciting step into a growing region and reflects our commitment to supporting high‑quality care in communities across the Midwest and beyond.

The year ahead promises new challenges and new opportunities, but our mission remains constant: to shape environments that elevate care and strengthen communities, one thoughtful space at a time.

The prospect of surgical intervention can be overwhelming for patients. While a great deal of attention is given to the comfort and flow of patients through these spaces, the provider and their tools are rarely on the periphery of the overall design. At Synergy Architecture Studio, we believe successful outcomes within an Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) are best achieved by providing efficient, well-choreographed spaces for patients and providers alike.

When working with Synergy, specialized design details begin in the lobby. Here, we consistently implement seating ‘vignettes’ so patients and waiting family members can wait in modern comfort with ample access to staff and information.

Reception desks are also designed for efficient workflow and staff safety. After check-in, patient travel through the suite can be simply described as a linear path, or “one-way”, towards (ideally) individualized pre-op rooms. At Synergy we’ve seen time and time again that individual rooms elevate surgical efficiencies as they provide a private space for patient contemplation and provider preparatory work, building mutual confidence and expediting the overall process.

Bays of these private surgical spaces are intentionally oriented around a nurse station dedicated to pre-op activities, further limiting the travel distance between patient and provider, while giving both ideal visual access to one another.

From pre-op, this one-way patient journey continues into the operating room to undergo their procedure. Here, provider movements and experience become the focus. When working with Synergy, operating rooms are regularly designed to exceed the planning strategies developed by the Facility Guidelines Institute in close collaboration with the providers who will be working at the ASC. While operating room layouts can be highly specific to each individual specialty, overall operating rooms must be developed to be both immediately functional and adaptable for future functionality as the use of robotics, imaging, and minimally invasive techniques during surgery continue to develop across a broad range of procedures.

Our strategy is to orient multiple operating rooms around a central corridor to ensure a safe, sterile and efficient flow of instruments, information, equipment, anesthesiologists, surgeons and nurses. These efficiencies are continuously tested and developed during planning to minimize physical distance between providers, equipment, supplies, and the operating table both reducing provider fatigue and the procedural timeline.

After surgery, the patient’s one-way journey moves to post-op where, similarly to pre-op, the patient is provided with a comfortable and functional space to begin their recovery. We generally incorporate a dedicated patient exit to provide a more direct, private, and dignified path as the patient prepares to continue their recovery at home. 

When design strategy aligns with clinical excellence, everyone benefits. That’s why at Synergy, our architects design spaces that prioritize efficiency at every touchpoint alongside our users. By reducing physical distances, optimizing workflow, and anticipating future technological advances, our ASCs deliver various measurable benefits including reduced staff fatigue, improved patient turnover, lower operating costs and, most importantly, better surgical outcomes. Our strategy ensures patients receive exceptional care in a comforting environment, and that providers are able to perform in spaces that wholly support their ongoing success.

Picture this: You’re rushing to a medical appointment that you scheduled over your lunch hour on a workday, coffee in one hand and a wheeled laptop bag in the other. Without thinking, you glide up a gently sloped ramp and through an automatic double door, continuing onward with ease through the spacious lobby. As you wait for the elevator, you notice a parent easily maneuvering a double stroller through the clinic’s wide corridors and an elderly couple resting on a thoughtfully placed bench nearby.

Your ability to visualize this scene with ease is thanks to the evolving real estate design principles that have made moments like these commonplace in medical settings today. But what you might not realize is that every one of these originated with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Today’s most successful healthcare facilities aren’t just checking compliance boxes—they’re discovering what forward-thinking architects have known for years: When you design for accessibility, you design for everyone. And in an era where patient experience can make or break a medical practice, this insight has never been more valuable.

The “curb-cut effect” is a term that was popularized by Angela Glover Blackwell in a 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review article that illustrated how accessibility features designed for individuals with disabilities often end up benefiting a much larger group. For instance, the small ramps—curb cuts—installed at street corners to facilitate wheelchair access, have also proven beneficial for parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, delivery workers, and cyclists. Or consider how closed captioning, originally developed for the deaf and hard of hearing, is now widely used by people in noisy environments or when headphones aren’t available.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) played a significant role in institutionalizing all of these inclusive designs. Beyond mandating curb cuts, the ADA has led to numerous additional compliance features that universally elevate communities:

• Elevators and Ramps: Beneficial for people with mobility challenges, parents with strollers, and travelers with luggage.
• Accessible Signage: High-contrast, readable signs assist not only those with visual impairments but also the general public in navigating spaces more efficiently.
• Auditory Signals at Crosswalks: Originally for the visually impaired, these signals also help distracted pedestrians stay safe.

As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ADA, the commercial real estate sector has evolved from viewing accessibility as merely a compliance issue to recognizing it as a cornerstone of architectural excellence. Modern architectural innovations inspired by ADA principles include zero-threshold entries, which eliminate the need for separate accessible entrances, creating seamless experiences for all building users; and smart building technology such as voice-activated controls, automated doors, and digital wayfinding not only assist those with disabilities but enhance the user experience for all tenants and visitors.

Medical buildings represent a critical intersection of healthcare delivery and commercial real estate where ADA compliance takes on heightened significance:

• Enhanced patient experience: Features like wider doorways and corridors accommodate patients using mobility aids while simultaneously improving flow for all visitors, medical equipment transport, and emergency response.
• Adaptable exam rooms: Universal design elements such as adjustable-height exam tables, adequate turning radii, and accessible transfer areas benefit patients with disabilities while also improving workflow efficiency for healthcare providers.
• Intuitive wayfinding systems: High-contrast, multi-sensory directional cues reduce navigation stress for everyone, particularly benefiting first-time visitors, elderly patients, and those with cognitive impairments.
• Specialized accessibility zones: Dedicated areas for patient drop-off/pick-up with protective canopies serve those with mobility challenges while providing weather protection for all patients, especially during transfer to and from vehicles.

Looking to the future, we expect some emerging accessible design elements to continue to grow:

• Neurodiversity-friendly spaces: Designs that accommodate sensory sensitivities, such as adjustable lighting and acoustic controls.
• Digital accessibility: Ensuring building management systems and tenant portals meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
• Resilient design: Creating accessible evacuation routes and emergency plans for all building occupants.

At Synergy Architecture Studio, we don’t just meet ADA requirements; we keep them at the forefront of every design. Using integrated design principles, our architects create facilities that serve all patients and staff while positioning your practice for long-term success.

Ready to transform compliance into competitive advantage? Contact our team today to discuss how thoughtful, inclusive design can enhance patient experience, improve operational efficiency, and future-proof your medical facility.

In today’s fast-shifting healthcare environment, real estate decisions are no longer about reacting to lease deadlines—they’re about future-proofing strategies. As industry pressures like inflation, rising labor costs, and shifting care models reshape what “smart planning” really means, the old approach of “wait and see” is officially over.

During last month’s HLAMN Conference at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, Architect Matthew O’Keefe of Synergy Architecture Studio discussed current real estate trends with Michael Sharpe of Davis and Tim McKee of Timco Construction during an exclusive panel focused on how healthcare organizations can deploy design-forward thinking to create healthcare spaces that support the idiosyncrasies of independent practices while maximizing ROI.

Real Estate Enables Strategy

According to Sharpe, the most successful healthcare systems aren’t just reacting to expiring leases or crowded clinics. They’re taking a long-term, proactive view. “Real estate isn’t strategy, but it enables strategy,” he reminded the audience. That means aligning space with both the realities of today’s care and the anticipated demands of tomorrow.

Outdated layouts, undersized exam rooms, and inflexible infrastructure often hinder efficiency. But waiting until these issues hit crisis mode can lead to rushed, expensive decisions. Planning two to three years out gives leaders the space and savings they need to make informed moves.

Designing for the Now While Building for What’s Next

O’Keefe emphasized the growing need for adaptable, well-sized clinical environments, particularly as healthcare providers expand into outpatient services and increasingly diversified care models. From accommodating full families in exam rooms to designing for multi-functional use, today’s clinics are anything but cookie-cutter.

“It’s about designing backwards from the workflow,” O’Keefe shared, noting how pre-design collaboration saves both time and square footage down the road. “Integrating teams from day one (architects, contractors, and strategic real estate advisors) allows for smarter space planning and quicker delivery, both of which our clients and partners highly value.”

Building Smart, Staying Flexible

On the construction side, McKee pointed to rising labor costs and lingering material expenses, but also to a powerful lever for both cost control and adaptability: pre-manufactured construction.

Systems like DIRTT allow clinics to move walls, upgrade tech infrastructure, or reconfigure layouts with minimal downtime. “You’re back in business the next day,” McKee explained. With depreciation treated more like furniture than traditional drywall, these systems are also budget-friendly over the long haul.

“This kind of flexibility isn’t just nice to have”, McKee stated. “As healthcare spaces evolve alongside technology, staffing models and patient expectations, it’s essential.”

The Key Takeaway

Design and development should never be an afterthought. Real estate decisions shape operations. Architectural influences optimize delivery. Construction timelines affect growth. When these components work together from the start, healthcare organizations can not only meet today’s challenges—they can design for resilience and longevity.

In the spring of 2019, our squad set up a small dynamic studio to remain focused on what mattered to us most: people and the space they inhabit. With nearly a century of combined experience, and over a decade of prior collaboration together we embarked upon a new journey to continue our exploration of the built environment through every means and method available, and when they weren’t, we developed them.  

Brought together by Pat Giordana, one of the region’s foremost ambulatory surgery center and medical building architects, our studio is dedicated to progress, process, and our patrons. As the patron of the master artisan would grant painting is not the artisan’s profession, but rather simply who they are, we simply are architects and designers. It is a lifelong endeavor we have decided to follow, sparked by something different for each of us and has now become the way we explore our world together.

Unlike the artisan though, our patrons aren’t just clients, they’re collaborators. When we started our studio in 2019, we dedicated ourselves to working closely with the groups we serve to ensure our ability to deliver the day-one functionality and feel the desire for their structures and spaces. At the same time, we made a declaration to ourselves that we would always deliver practical, future-flexible, and aesthetically timeless buildings and atmospheres.

After 10 buildings, 29 tenant spaces, and more than 600,000 sf designed and constructed, we want to thank our real estate, construction, engineering partners, and patrons for all that we have accomplished together in just five years. We are again galvanized to continue providing some of the most progressive and innovative medical and institutional spaces in the nation and look forward to meeting you for the first time, or continue working together soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is no mystery that the work of an architect is highly visual and sensory. The products of our work are inherently physical. Yet while the results of these efforts are the spaces we live within and around, our earliest products are mere representations of spaces that may be.

The ‘studio’ approach to design Synergy has embraced makes it possible for us to explore our work through cooperative physical and digital fabrication methods. Our practiced methods of design allow us to efficiently create flexible representations that provide a platform for both immediate modification by members of our team and direct feedback from our clients.  

We have brought forward modes of timeless architectural design exploration such as massing models, sketches, and physical material palettes to our daily process and updated them to allow for the flexibility we seek when working with our clients and construction partners. These early methods of thinking through materials and testing the practical relationships of spaces are then translated into immersive visual renderings that allow for a more holistic understanding of the atmosphere we are pursuing. Qualities of light, material, proximity, and scale can all be more concretely understood through three-dimensional renderings. We can then produce a series of static material-clad renderings, 360-degree panoramic views, and digital walk-throughs to provide us with experiences of the spaces before they are even built.

Along with using these renderings to provide ourselves and our clients with an understanding of a space, we also use them to provide confirmation to contractors of their understanding of our drawn details. These 3D panoramic views provide a way for contractors to see the finished product they aim to construct, meaning fewer questions in the field and a more unified vision for what the built goals are.

To facilitate seamless accessibility, our views are shared through user-friendly web links or scannable QR codes.

For ease of use, no specialized software is necessary, enabling easy distribution via email. For our contractors, QR codes are effortlessly integrated into job sites and embedded within construction documents, ensuring constant accessibility for our valued partners.

Visit our YouTube Channel for Video Walk-throughs:https://www.youtube.com/@synergyarchitecturestudio3762

In the world of architecture, the term “synergy” holds profound significance. It encapsulates the notion that when individuals collaborate harmoniously, the resulting whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It’s this very philosophy that was the genesis for Synergy Architecture Studio. The purposeful choice of the term “studio” speaks volumes, evoking an image of a close-knit group of creative minds working seamlessly together. Unlike larger firms that often prioritize the bottom line, Synergy works with an ethos centered around the client’s vision and the hallmark of superior medical design.

Drawing from a collective experience of over 80 years, the studio consists of five members, bringing a diverse skillset to the table. Leading the charge is Patrick Giordana AIA/LEED AP, Synergy’s Principal. With an impressive 35-year tenure, he has earned immense respect across the Twin Cities’ medical community for his expertise in healthcare design. Complementing him is Matt O’Keefe AIA, a seasoned architect with 20+ years of experience, ensuring consistency and unwavering commitment to each project. The talents of Eric Mayer, Dylan Breyer, and Mikale Nafe infuse the team with unique perspectives that fortify and enrich the team’s approach.

The Davis journey has been enriched by a deep-rooted partnership with Synergy, spanning over 25 years. In 2019, Synergy and Davis joined forces, channeling a collective energy into delivering exceptional Class A medical developments and specialized medical tenant projects. This partnership began with a shared commitment to amplifying customer service through responsiveness and a dedication to delivering impactful and patient-centric healthcare environments. Together, we are able to provide elevated support to our valued clients and ensure that their visions are translated into reality with precision and excellence.

Our collaboration extends to numerous primary care, specialty care, and health system tenant designs, creating a strong portfolio of healthcare facilities ranging in size from 10,000 to 148,000 square feet. Together, we create spaces that align seamlessly with the vision of our clients as demonstrated in legacy projects like Minnetonka Medical Center, M Health Fairview Clinics and Specialty Center in Maplewood, and CityPlace I & II in Woodbury and fresh designs like Xchange Medical in St. Louis Park, 610 Medical in Brooklyn Park, Wayzata Specialty Center, and Lakeville Specialty Center (opening in Q4 2023). We believe that through synergy, exceptional design emerges, and we look forward to shaping the future of healthcare alongside you.