Healthcare Design - October 2013 - 73

C CONSTRUCTION | 10.13
A full plate
Repurposing a vacant restaurant space into Visions HealthCare served up a
few construction challenges for the design team
By Clay Benjamin Smook
Dr. Edward Levitan, founder of
Visions HealthCare, a private
health and wellness center, spent
nearly two years searching for an
ideal spot to relocate the practice.
Proximity between the new facility
and an existing one in Wellesley,
Mass., was key to allowing prac-

The building itself
Visions' goal for this building was not only to
transform an existing eyesore but also to create
a flagship for the brand. It hired Smook Architecture & Urban Design Inc. (Boston) to serve as

was seeking. So adapted reuse
with full renovation was chosen.
An interesting catch: The existing
building included a large billboard affixed to an
elevator tower, overlooking a major interstate
that loops around Boston. This billboard is
viewed by hundreds of thousands of commuters
every day and provided an excellent opportunity
for Visions signage; due to changes in zoning ordinances, it couldn't be replaced if demolished.
Renovation plans called for a 4,000-square-

the master planner and architect for the project.
Visions' business plan includes the construction
of 50 such facilities throughout New England
and a 200-acre sustainable campus where doctors, students, and patients can share ideas on
an approach to care that focuses on patients'
physical, biochemical, emotional, energetic, and
spiritual needs to determine and treat the root
cause of disease.
Originally a small, wood-framed structure, the
80-year-old building on the site Visions ultimately
selected had been expanded over the years
to become a 7,000-square-foot restaurant. Its
location offered proximity to a major arterial road,
hospitals, and other amenities.
Due to zoning restrictions, demolishing the
building and constructing anew would have
resulted in a smaller building positioned in a less
favorable manner, with less parking than Visions

foot expansion to the one-story building with a
partial second floor, to allow for a full second
floor. The overall design approach facilitates
easy navigation of the Visions model by placing
primary care on the ground floor and wellness
(including acupuncture, energy and spiritual,
nutrition, and chiropractic services) on the
second. These spaces were simply and cleanly
designed on the interior with cost and efficiency
in mind. The exterior was clad in a fiber cement
board panel system. The entry of the building,
which faces a major state road, is punctuated
by a double height, glass-enclosed lobby. The
lobby was bracketed by an L-shaped masonry
wall that extends from inside to out, tying the
building to the landscape.
The existing building had limited floor-to-floor
heights within the two-story portions of the building and conventional framing, with numerous

www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com 10.13

BEFORE

The entry lobby/pavilion is
bracketed by a limestone colored wall that's carried from
inside to outside. Sustainable
materials (such as Brazilian
walnut and cement panels)
were used to clad the façade.
Inset: The entry façade of
the building before renovation
was a mix of architectural
styles and materials. Paving
from property line to property
line limited planting to just up
against the building.

Clay Benjamin Smook

BENJAMIN CHEUNG

titioners and staff to move freely
between the two while capturing
an expanded patient base. And
Levitan found that opportunity in a
location in Dedham, Mass., at the
site of a shuttered restaurant.
The goals of the project, along
with some unusual characteristics
of the site and building, created a
number of construction challenges
for the project team. Zoning restrictions, sustainability requirements, and one giant billboard were
all part of the mix as the architects, contractors,
and designers figured out the best approach for
this unique renovation.

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Healthcare Design - October 2013

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