Healthcare Design - September 2019 - 14

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HE CHELSEA DISTRICT Health Center, also known
as the Leona Baumgartner District Health Center,
in Manhattan's Chelsea Park is steeped in history.
Honoring the first woman to serve as commissioner
of New York City's Department of Health, the facility was built in 1934 to support the city's urban
public health initiatives. "The building is one of 14
New York City New Deal- era district health centers
whose creation signified that public health buildings deserved an architectural expression equivalent to other civic structures," says Stephen
Yablon, principal at Stephen Yablon Architecture PLLC (New York).
But after eight decades in continuous operation, the facility was beginning to show its age, with inefficient windows and cracked masonry
on the exterior; an outdated interior and layout; and inadequate infrastructure, including a lack of central air conditioning, code-compliant
ventilation, and adequate electrical power. Additionally, the New York
City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which owns and operates the clinic, wanted to begin transforming several clinics to deliver services related to its most pressing public health issues, including
sexually transmitted diseases, making it the right time to renovate the
28,000-square-foot facility.
With Stephen Yablon Architecture leading design, the project team
set out to transform the historic building into a modern public health
clinic that would help encourage people to seek care. "Sexual health
clinics are usually defensive, institutional-looking spaces that feel impersonal, communicate lack of empathy, and come across as stigmatized places," Yablon says. "The transformed Chelsea clinic reinvents
this experience by creating a comforting and supportive environment
that is rooted in its neighborhood."
For starters, designers decided to take advantage of the building's
location in Chelsea Park to inspire the main interior design, including
curved, white epoxy-clad clinical spaces; undulating wood-slat ceilings;
and natural-finish tile floors. All waiting areas face the front of the park.
"The connection to the park makes the facility feel unique and tailored
to the neighborhood and its needs," Yablon says.
On the exterior, the brick and cast stone were restored and security
grate-covered windows were replaced with energy-efficient insulated

14

SEPTEMBER 2019

ABOVE: The reception

area's modern
materials palette
and sleek design
were chosen to
deliver the message
that this is not a
typical sexual health
clinic. ABOVE, RIGHT:
A new modern stair
is inserted behind a
three-story curtain
wall slot cut into
the rear façade.
RIGHT: The building's
original art-deco
style is on display at
the entrance, which
was restored during
the renovation.

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

windows. The mechanical system upgrade
included new central air and ventilation.
Yablon says the biggest challenge on the
project, which was completed in March
2018, was accommodating a larger medical
clinic within a building originally designed to
house multiple smaller clinics. Working with
users, the firm helped the staff refine their
patient flow model. For example, the ground
floor houses the existing building lobby, triage suite, and rapid test suite. The second
and third floors are home to diagnostic and
treatments services. Waiting areas are centrally located on each floor, with exam rooms
and counseling offices on either side to eliminate lengthy corridors, increasing visibility
and efficiency. "The health center provides a
remarkable sense of place, one that is exclusive to its site and cannot be found anywhere
else," Yablon says.-Anne DiNardo, executive editor

© MICHAEL MORAN

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Healthcare Design - September 2019

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