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The University of Michigan opened its 350,000-sf Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor on June 7, 2007. The $215 million, five-story facility was designed by Boston-based Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott and built by general contractor Barton Malow Company of Southfield, Mich. The center includes 48 inpatient beds, 11 procedure rooms, eight operating rooms, diagnostic facilities, outpatient spaces, an atrium, and a patient library. The facility is connected to University Hospital and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital by sky bridges and tunnels. “Lean” management principles, as adapted from Toyota’s manufacturing practices, were implemented in the planning of the facility by physicians, nurses, and staff who participated in the shaping of the building to imagine ways of streamlining processes for maximum efficiency.