Outside, an undulating red wall was added to “break up the box” at the entry side, support a canopy and provide natural references in building form. External gardens and water features were added between parking and entry to set the stage as clients arrive.
Construction was relatively simple. The building was constructed in the early 1990s, so it was still in good condition. The structure is composed of reinforced concrete masonry walls with steel roof framing. We chose to fireproof the steel structure to allow for hospital-grade functions in the future, which added cost not required for the current uses but allow for a potential surgery center, cancer center or other uses requiring a fireproof structure. To create the central gardens, we simply removed the roof structure between columns and wrapped the openings with glass curtainwall systems. The undulating
red wall was constructed with steel studs, sheathing and stucco; it was deemed necessary to change the character of the building and worth the cost to the owner. The red wall extends above the roof as a “fence” to conceal the rooftop HVAC units from view. The building’s rooftop HVAC units were reused and more added to create additional control zones.
The 90,000-square-foot building provided more than enough space for all the programs envisioned by Silverton Health. In fact, 15,000 square feet is left for future uses, such as a cancer center, surgicenter or more clinics.
Wellspring Medical Center has been a major boon to building community relationships and enhancing the Silverton Health position as the major health-care provider for Woodburn. It has received raves from community visitors and received an award from Healthcare Design magazine. A testament to its flexibility, some of the programs have changed and the construction has been relatively invisible to the public because of the perimeter access. That adaptability will ensure the facility’s success for a long time to come.
Willamette Family Medical Center
Administrators of a not-for-profit physician group in Salem, Ore., sought a new home for their growing group practice. They found an empty Circuit City building for an affordable price. Like Wellspring Medical Center’s Kmart building, the Circuit City building is located on a prominent commercial arterial street with great visibility and access, including public transit—essential for some of the low-income patients the physician group serves.
The new Willamette Family Medical Center’s (WFMC’s) program is fairly typical for clinics: exam rooms, lab, physician and medical-assistant workstations, patient registration/waiting areas, and administration/ business areas. Only about two-thirds of the building was needed for the center’s needs, but the floor plan anticipates other medical tenants or WFMC’s expansion.
Although smaller—30,000 square feet—than Wellspring Medical Center, the Circuit City building was windowless and of a deep dimension, unsuitable for a clinic as is. We inserted a garden court to provide central daylight and views, as well as benefit the waiting room, clinical areas and future tenant space. We also added windows at the waiting room and physician offices.
As with Wellspring Medical Center, the building’s high roof structure (17 to 20 feet) is an advantage: We painted the structure black and suspended areas of ceiling selectively at offices and artfully at the waiting room while preserving the open feel, generally. For the clinical areas, clusters of exam rooms and staff offices are treated as pavilions (with ceiling/roofs for privacy) within the open space, creating a lively “village” of buildings within the building. We used a very modern approach with simple, clean white walls and primary color accents, which creates a cheerful and contemporary atmosphere, befitting the mostly young clientele, many of whom have children. The client has an extensive collection of framed modern-art posters, which have been deployed throughout the clinic, complementing the architecture beautifully.
The construction process at WFMC was simple and economical. Unlike Wellspring Medical Center, WFMC could not afford a total makeover of the building. Built in the mid-1990s, it was still in good condition. To cover the Circuit City branding on the exterior—the maroon “plug” formation at the entry—we used only paint and introduced a distinctive pattern with new geometries to rebrand the façade. Inside, the garden court was created by cutting out roof between columns and wrapping the garden with a storefront glazing system to maximize daylight coming into the interior. Windows were cut into the concrete masonry walls selectively for daylight and views for the waiting room and offices. The unprotected (not fireproofed) steel roof structure was left as is and painted black to conceal the unsightly pipes and conduit. Existing roof HVAC systems were reused, following some strategic maintenance.
The doctors, staff and patients all love the new clinic. They appreciate the openness for the breathing room and sense of privacy it provides. Since opening, WFMC has leased part of the empty space to a specimen-collection lab and is planning an immediate-care center soon. To WFMC, the new space is an unqualified success.
PHOTOS, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED: Michael Mathers
1 Comment
That Kmart in Woodburn, OR was built in 1991. it closed in November 2000 as part of 72 store closings.