In the architectural landscape of suburban strip malls and big box edifices, the rectangle and box reign supreme. But the Legacy ER building in Allen, Texas, sits amid the chain pharmacies and gas stations like a challenge: a challenge to our complacency in design and our acceptance of suburban Americana architecture.
Perhaps even more interesting is that at the core of the project is a simple box itself. And it is the roof that changes it, alters it and evolves it into something so much more. For that reason, the judges have selected the Legacy ER project as the winner of the Metal Roofing category in the 2014 Metal Architecture Design Awards.
While the building shape is simple, a rectangle with a second floor on one end, it is actually based on the quite sophisticated principles of evidence-based design. Yen Ong, AIA, NCARB, LEED APBD+C, partner of 5G Studio Collaborative, Dallas, designed the floor plan so that workspaces functioned effectively based on empirical analysis of the way space can improve medical care. For example, examination rooms are all laid out identically so doctors and nurses don’t need to reorient themselves when they move from room to room. “The plan is incredibly regular,” says Paul Merrill, a designer at5G Studios. “But as you go up above the finished floor, it becomes much more dynamic. The ceiling system becomes a foil to the exterior.”
That dynamism culminates in the expression of the roof and overhangs. Covering the roof is a standing seam metal roof from Woburn, Mass.-based RHEINZINK America Inc., which merges into perforated reveal panels also by RHEINZINK MetalTech-USA, Peachtree City, Ga., fabricated the panels using five different perforation patterns that were coordinated with two different panel types. The perforations are larger toward the outside and create a diffuse pattern of light.
The perforated soffits have integrated lighting systems that illuminate during the night, while providing shade during the day. “The further from the land, the perforations increase in size to let more light through,” Merrill says. “Not just to add more light, but if you put the large perforations near the lamp, it would be incredibly intense. The pattern compensates for the light.”
On the west side of the building is a series of examination rooms, and the perforations along the eave allow for shading of those rooms, keeping them cooler as well as providing some sense of privacy. “One of the by-products is that you get a really dynamic pattern on the inside of those rooms,” Merrill says.
“The perforations are placed to be functional,” says Merrill. “Under the canopy where the ambulance entrance is, it allows the required amount of light, but isn’t overwhelming. The perforations near the main entrance allow visitors’ eyes to adjust to the brighter space as they enter.”
That may seem like a simple thing, but even eye health is considered in evidence-based design. “Atypical doc-in-a-box is incredibly dark,” Merrill says. “This space is light, dynamic and airy. Natural light improves the mood of doctors and patients. When you enter, it’s not sterile. It’s warm, and you feel comfortable even in times of duress.”
That’s a calm interior and it is a different feel from the exterior of the building. “The form appears urgent on the outside,” says Merrill. “It stands for what the function of the building is: urgent and precise.”
Working closely with MetalTech-USA, Ong and his team pushed to create a roof form that has a trimless look. That required careful coordination and planning of the structure behind the panels, which was executed by Ramon Franklin LLC, Fort Worth, Texas. The light-gauge steel framing made it possible for the zinc panels to be installed with invisible lines. The result in some parts of the building leads to a kind of optical illusion. Looking back toward the ambulance entrance, the metal roof bends downward and appears to be almost paper thin, although it’s actually at least 6 inches thick.
That kind of dynamic effect of the metal roof gives Legacy ER a brand that supports the importance and urgencyof the medical services inside. But the careful consideration about lighting and perforation patterns help patients make the transition from hectic exterior to calm, professional interior. For that kind of thoughtful design, the judges recognized Legacy ER with the metal roofing award.
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Legacy ER, Allen, Texas
Completed: November 2013
Total square footage: 7,632 square feet
Building owner: Legacy ER
Architect: 5G Studio Collaborative, Dallas, www.5gstudio.com
General contractor: UEB Builders, Dallas, www.uebbuilders.com
Metal panel installer: Ramon Franklin LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, www.ramonfranklin.com
Metal panel fabricator: MetalTech-USA, Peachtree City, Ga., www.metaltech-usa.com
Metal roof panels: RHEINZINK America Inc., Woburn, Mass., www.rheinzink.us