Healthcare Design - October 2014 - 34

HEALTHCARE FACILITIES GEARED

to men are few and far between, especially compared to women's or children's specialty centers. So when
NYU Langone Medical Center decided to open a new outpatient clinic
in Midtown Manhattan dedicated to the Y chromosome set, Perkins+Will
knew it had a rare opportunity to do something special.
But first the firm had to address the reality that many men won't
see a physician until there's something really wrong. "I think men want
to exude a sense of being strong," says Ted Shaw, senior designer at
Perkins+Will (New York). "But they can be quite vulnerable when
they do get sick, since they often don't acknowledge symptoms
early on."
To create an environment where men would feel comfortable in both
sickness and in health, the design team used a series of details-from
wool and newsprint wallcoverings to fritted window glazing-to craft a
"strong yet vulnerable" aesthetic.
The 15,000-square-foot Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men's
Health, which opened in January 2014, earned top honors in the Ambulatory Care Centers-Medical Practice Suites category and overall Best
of Competition in the 2014 IIDA Healthcare Interior Design Competition.
"The character of the clinic is sophisticated, restrained, and highly consistent throughout," one juror noted.

RING

NYU Langone Medical Center combines masculine
details and rich textures to create a distinctive
outpatient center for men, taking Best of
Competition honors in the 2014 IIDA Healthcare
Interior Design Competition By Anne DiNardo

Shaw says ambulatory facilities have more flexibility with design, since
the layouts don't have to accommodate patient rooms and large amounts
of support corridors. "It frees up the architecture to be more expressive and
tailored to the patients themselves, not the operations," he says.

HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

The new NYU clinic houses 17 exam rooms, 11 consultation rooms, and a
range of services, including cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, internal medicine, and neurology. Recognizing that the location
on Madison Avenue between East 55th and 56th streets would be attractive
and convenient to Midtown's white collar workforce, the design team used a
cross between a medical office space and a high-profile corporate office as
a starting point and then drew further inspiration from clothing boutiques, VIP
lounges, and country clubs. "It's wasn't just visual; it was a tactile expression,"
Shaw says. "Everywhere you interface with the site, there's a warm material."
Opposite, top: Seating options include plush couches and chairs. Glazed doors and
privacy walls have a graduated tint that creates a sense of privacy while maintaining an
airy feel. Above: The waiting area sets the tone, using acoustical wood ceiling and wall
paneling and back-coated glass columns that are top-lit. Opposite, bottom: Millwork
is recessed into a shared wall between adjoining patient rooms, making the space
more efficient. Left: To assist in wayfinding, interior work areas feature a dark brown
wallcovering while physicians' offices along the perimeter are denoted with white walls
and floor-to-ceiling glazed glass panels, which bring daylighting further into the clinic.

HCDmagazine.com 10.14

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Healthcare Design - October 2014

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