DFDG Architecture

Arizona's summer heat is here! Thoughtful design helps buildings do more than withstand it, it helps them respond to it.

At the ASU Health Futures Center, the building's self-shading facade, strategic orientation, carefully angled glazing, and canopy-covered outdoor spaces work together to reduce solar heat gain, limit glare, and maximize natural daylight. The result is a building that responds directly to the challenges of Arizona's climate while creating a more comfortable interior environment.

At Mayo Clinic's Integrated Education and Research Building, shaded outdoor spaces, shade-tolerant native plantings, and passive cooling strategies create a desert oasis. The protected courtyard establishes its own microclimate, offering cooler temperatures and increased comfort while strengthening the connection between the building and its landscape.

Together, these projects demonstrate how design decisions, from building orientation to landscape integration, can shape how people experience Arizona's climate.

Read more about these projects here:

ASU Health Futures Center: https://buff.ly/OpSRl6w
Mayo Clinic Integrated Education and Research Building: https://buff.ly/NTiace5

From medical office to modern headquarters.

DFDG partnered with Varitec Solutions and Haydon to transform a 36,500 SF building into a workplace that better supports how their team works day-to-day, delivered on a fast-track timeline to keep operations moving.

Phase 1 focused on a full interior renovation, simplifying and streamlining the workplace with ergonomic, height-adjustable workstations, reduced paper storage, and flexible spaces for both in-office staff and visiting field techs. Glass-forward finishes, paired with acoustic and lighting solutions, create a space that feels open but still focused.

A standout executive boardroom uses switchable glass to balance transparency and privacy, with training, collaboration, and quiet work zones layered throughout.

Phase 2 adds a 20,000 SF warehouse, enhanced entry, and site upgrades to support continued growth.

Built to work better, now and as they grow.

Team: KBell Engineering, Resolut, PK Associates, UES

When we’re not in the office, we’re busy building rocket ships 🚀

This past Saturday, Sara Meca and Sarah Salas headed down to Tucson for the annual Death Race, an industry event that brings together partners and clients for a day of racing, competition, and a little creative fun.

Given a standard wooden car kit, they took a different approach, combining their builds into a rocket ship and astronaut. Faster than a car? Obviously.

Their entry sparked nearly 30 minutes of judge deliberation (and a little rule-bending debate), but in the end, creativity won out and so did they!

Big step forward in shaping the future of health education!

DFDG Architecture, alongside CO Architects and McCarthy Building Companies Inc., joined Arizona State University and community leaders to break ground on the new ASU Health Headquarters in downtown Phoenix.

The 175,000 SF facility will anchor a new hub for medical education, research, and innovation, bringing together medicine, engineering, and technology to rethink how care is delivered.

This is more than a building; it connects the people and ideas shaping the future of care.