The Health Center

2009 Plainfield, VT

Medical and dental offices, with attendant support spaces.  $3.6 M

Principal: Bob Duncan

PROBLEM : SOLUTION

Having experienced enormous growth in its medical practice, and with its dental practice continuing its exponential growth, a doubling of the original space was required.  All new and remodeled construction had to be accomplished without any facility shut down, maximize daylight to interior spaces, and use materials to enhance the patient/staff experience.

Rooted in the requirement to more than double the space, the concept mirrors and improves upon the circulation concept that has functioned well for nearly thirty years, and takes advantage of the sloping site to give the lower level a southern exposure.  The entry roof, centered upon a curving entrance drive that can accommodate vehicles if necessary, embraces one under its downward sloping Doug fir ceiling and columns/beams, leads through a glass enclosed air-lock to the main entrance hall where its upward sloping Doug fir ceiling culminates at the skylit roof monitor.  The design separates medical and dental practices by floor, with dental on the lower floor where the exposed Douglas fir framing of the reception and waiting areas is accented by a section of glass floor directly under the roof monitor above, introducing daylight while making an obscured visual connection between the two practices.