Office of Chief Medical Examiner

Location: 
San Francisco, California
Client: 
San Francisco Department of Public Works
Architect: 
KMD Architects
Additional collaborations with KMD Architects:
Size: 
46,000 Square Feet
Year Completed: 
2017
Certification: 
LEED Gold (targeted)

Previously housed in a seismically deficient structure, the new Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) provides a seismically safe facility equipped to provide continuous and reliable service with enhanced capacity to process caseloads efficiently and produce timely results for victims of crimes, for the judicial system, and for medical authorities in case of epidemics.  

The office houses each of the OCME’s programmatic and first responder functions, including a medical complex, a forensics laboratory, administration, field investigation, building support, and public functions. The team demolished interior space and one exterior wall of the existing Medical Examiner's office before building a new, two-story structure within its shell. Temporary bracing supported the precast tilt-up structure during construction. The expanded facility, which doubles the size of the Medical Examiner's previous office to 46,000 square feet, houses 50 employees. 

Pursuing LEED® Gold certification, the facility is also designed to meet the California Energy Code 2013, one of the most stringent energy codes in the United States.