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A proposal for a five-story clinic building at Oregon Health & Science University got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve plans for the $30 million, 65,000-square-foot Elks Children’s Eye Clinic, including an eco-roof, a sensory garden, dichroic glass and other innovative features designed to make the facility user-friendly for the visually impaired. The building’s design also drew praise for the way it will fit into the OHSU campus atop Marquam Hill.

鈥淚 love the fact the institute itself is connected organically to the other existing building,鈥� Commissioner Tad Savinar said. 鈥淵et the sky-bridge and parking court and garden 鈥� you take that little adjustment and it focuses this energy on the entrance, which is fantastic.

It even improves how it’s nestled into this little valley, and that’s extraordinary.鈥�

Seattle-based NBBJ designed the new clinic. Its ground floor will include an entry lobby, an optical shop, a staff lounge and conference room, and a cafe虂. The upper four stories will be devoted to clinic space, while the roof will support a mechanical penthouse.

A sky-bridge at the clinic’s third level will connect to the adjacent Casey Eye Institute.

A new plaza and sensory garden will sit between the clinic building and Southwest Campus Drive to its south, while a new outdoor courtyard will sit between the new building and an existing parking garage to the east.

For context, the new clinic will be built on the site of the former OHSU School of Dentistry building, which is being demolished. It’s a slow process, because that building is, in effect, acting as a retaining wall for a portion of Southwest Campus Drive.

鈥淚 like every aspect of this building,鈥� Commissioner Andrew Clarke said of the proposed eye clinic. 鈥淚t’s a very awesome, clear presentation and it shows the building and the mission you guys are moving forward with as well, so I support this project.鈥�

One change from earlier proposed configurations for the clinic comes at the rooftop level. An eco-roof was initially聽 intended for storm water detention. But because the roof area was not sufficient to serve this function, it was instead incorporated into the landscape design. The eco-roof was initially included as a recommended condition of approval by city staff but commissioners agreed to eliminate this feature.

鈥淚t fits with the purity of form of the building, and with managing what is always an anomaly on the roof 鈥� the mechanical stuff,鈥� city planner Arthur Graves said. 鈥淚n a different topographical environment you may not notice the roof as much as here, being on a hillside.鈥�

David Wilson, chairman of OHSU’s ophthalmology department, told the commission the dichroic glass and other design elements were devised with the aim of making patients’ visits to the new clinic easier both physically and mentally.

鈥淢any of the patients we see are visually impaired or legally blind, and sometimes those conditions make them sensitive to light,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat played into some of the design elements from patient comfort, but also from patient safety. This building really is complementary to the other building that is adjacent to it.鈥�

A driving concept behind the project was the notion of creating 鈥渁 site for the senses,鈥� NBBJ senior associate Brian Uyesugi said. Thus, the sensory garden with native plants, a new courtyard, landscaping and other visual elements were an overriding focal point.

鈥淲e were trying to strike a balance between a building that is very professional and research-driven, and the sense-of-wonder aspect of a pediatric entry,鈥� he said.