(Associate Architect: Davis Buckley Architects and Planners, of Washington, DC)
Download printable project sheet, 143KB.Awards:
-2001 U. S. Air Force Honor Award (one of only four given each year)
-2001 Alabama Council of the American Institute of Architects - Honorable Mention
-2002 Edwin F. Goth Memorial International Illumination Design Award for Interior Lighting Design
Sherlock, Smith & Adams was awarded the contract to design the largest ambulatory health care center ever undertaken by the United States Air Force. The facility, located on Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, represents a new direction in military health care design. The 200,000-square-foot facility provides outpatient medical and dental services for the base population and for retired military personnel living in the central Alabama area.
The Mediterranean/mission-style structure is consistent with existing base architecture. The building's exterior incorporates a combination of buff and rust-colored brick and stone, along with a mission-style red tile roof. The building's interior is organized around a large three-story atrium, which welcomes patients and guests into the facility. Inside the atrium, patients are directed to waiting areas adjacent to the various clinical offices.
Patient activity is organized toward the front of each clinic, for convenience, with administrative and services areas to the rear. The facility is designed with patient services and comfort as its foremost concern. As an example of such planning, the Pediatrics Unit is located on the first floor near the front door and includes a separate waiting area. Also on the first floor are: Primary Care, Flight Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Radiology, Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Immunization and Acute Care. The second floor includes facilities for Dentistry, Physical Therapy, Psychiatry, Optometry and Ophthalmology, Outpatient Surgery and Recovery, and Preventative Medicine/Occupational Health. The third floor includes administrative offices, classrooms and a medical library.
The three-story atrium contains clerestory windows and light monitors that provide pleasant daylighting all year, while also conserving energy.