18 Nov 2024
This Galt Health family medical clinic was designed to reimagine the healthcare experience, creating a warm, empathetic, and uplifting environment for both patients and staff. Attuned to the potential vulnerability of patients, the clinic prioritizes well-being through careful choices in materials, layout, and natural light, fostering a sense of calm and ease from the moment of entry.
The design was shaped by insights from doctors, staff, and community members who emphasized the importance of daylight, views, and a sense of openness in making medical spaces more humane. Patient rooms are centrally located, encircled by a continuous loop of circulation that allows staff and doctors to move fluidly throughout the clinic without dead ends. This layout provides brief but meaningful moments to connect with the surrounding landscape, offering spaces for doctors and staff to recharge between patient interactions. Patients enjoy the same visual connection to the outdoors, guided by natural wood details that accompany them through each step of their visit. Generous natural light and tactile, welcoming materials lend the space a familiar and soothing aesthetic.
The patient rooms are sized to feel spacious yet intimate, with pitched ceilings that evoke the comforting form of a home. Wood-slatted ceilings vary in height to offer the right balance of privacy, openness, and daylight suited to each space. Custom millwork and furnishings, including a 115-foot bench along the clinic’s perimeter, add continuity and warmth.
During renovation, the existing suspended ceiling was removed to reveal a transom window and exposed mechanical systems, which were reorganized to enhance the sense of openness. The polished concrete floor serves as a robust, reflective surface that disperses natural light throughout the clinic.
Sustainability was a core principle in the design. By reusing an existing structure, and locally sourcing and machining all wood components, the project minimized waste. The clinic’s layout leverages the building’s thermal properties, positioning patient rooms deeper within the structure to reduce heating and cooling needs. LED lighting is rarely required due to ample daylight, and automated sensors further minimize energy consumption in patient rooms.
Technical sheet
