Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic
This 37,100 square foot clinic provides orthopedic services to the North Florida and South Georgia region of the United States. The building contains numerous exam and procedure rooms, X-ray facilities, general office space, dictation alcoves, a physical therapy suite, a large conference room, first and second floor waiting areas, break room and a variety of supporting spaces. Building materials consist of a single-ply low sloped roof membrane and a combination of ground face concrete block, precast concrete panels and stucco comprising exterior wall and soffit materials. Rooftop mechanical units are screened with horizontal aluminum louvers.
In searching for ideas that might otherwise inform a program that typically results in a strictly "instrumental" solution, the architects looked directly to the building's primary function - diagnosing, and otherwise caring for, ailments related to ligaments, tendons and bones. After studying how this might manifest itself in built form, the architects came up with the idea that the connecting tissue (ligaments and tendons) could be implied by a lightweight custom curtain wall system. These transparent areas of the building would connect to solid masses consisting of smaller punched openings; the "bones“ of the project. Custom fabricated curtain wall fins were specified, further accentuating the sinuous nature desired in the connecting membrane. Circular forms were incorporated into the design which reflected the geometry of the organization’s logo, an identifying symbol which has been in place for decades and is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.
Horizontal aluminum sunscreens assist in tempering the natural light which is also brought deep into the building via clerestory glazing. Triple silver coated Low-E glazing is utilized throughout which, along with the choice of an exceptionally high visible light transmittance glazing, fills the interiors with an abundance of natural light. In several areas of the building, artificial light fixtures are self-adjusting depending on the amount of natural daylight available. In addition to careful window orientation and building site placement, low flush toilets, motion sensor light fixtures, high efficiency mechanical units, and the use of low VOC building materials were several of the green strategies utilized throughout the facility. Insulation values exceeding code required minimums were utilized to further improve energy efficiencies.
