A Protective Wing

by Jonathan McGaha | February 3, 2015 12:00 am

The Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center provides nurturing and help to the needy in times of trouble

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In mythology, the mother pelican in times of hardship was said to pluck a feather from her breast and feed her offspring from her own blood. That demonstration of sacrifice, compassion and nurturing provided the perfect icon for the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, and has been the center piece of the organization’s logo since its inception.

Dr. Samuel U. Rodgers founded the health center in 1967 to serve the poor, uninsured and needy of Kansas City. It was the first federally recognized community health center in Missouri and only the fourth in the nation.

When the building it had occupied since 1971 was no longer functional for modern health care needs, it retained Rafael Garcia, AIA, Garcia Architecture, Kansas City, to build a new center on property it owned next to the building, and Garcia turned to the pelican for inspiration.

 

Folded Wing

The defining characteristic of the building is a section of standing seam metal roofing that folds over and extends vertically, nearly reaching the ground. “One wing is coming down the side and is her protective wing,” says Garcia. “On the other end of the building the roof is flat, but it has the appearance of being in flight. And patients enter under the canopy on the other side of the building, which is coming in under its protective wing.”

Since the building is sited in a low-income neighborhood, security and constancy are important considerations. “Using metal provides an image of stability and durability,” Garcia explains. “It says we’re going to be in the neighborhood for awhile. The wing that comes down is part of the walk connecting the building to the adjacent park and it will house the museum that tells the story of Sam Rodgers.”

The wing is a subtle way of giving the building to the people in the neighborhood. “When you give it to them, they take ownership of it,” Garcia says. “The striation of the lines, how we put our seams, needed to be perfect like the backbone of the wing.”

The metal material is VMZ flat lock wall panels and VMZ standing seam roof panels, manufactured by Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C. The selection of the metal was important to the conceptualization of the building as a pelican. “The stability and strength of the material drove the concept,” Garcia says. “I wanted the appearance to be of a clean laboratory and the metal panels were the best way to do that.”

 

Organized and Bright

Beneath the soaring winged roofline stands a three-story building with a south-facing elevation made almost entirely of glass. The layout of the building is simplified. Too often, patients at medical centers need to actually depart the building and go to other buildings for additional services such as X-rays. “We wanted to stack it and keep the continuity,” Garcia explains. “How do you deal with privacy and circulatory issues if you stack everything? We opened up the south side and set up the circulation on that side.” He used hallways like fingers that extended through the building to provide access to all the services.

A light color palette for the flooring also ensured that the light penetrating the curtainwall, from Kawneer Co. Inc., Norcross, Ga., reached deep into the building, offering soothing, natural illumination. The lights are shut off for a large part of the day, saving energy and helping the building to earn LEED Silver certification.

The curtainwall also faces the park area, breaking the barrier between the building and the natural environment. “It’s part of the wellness idea,” Garcia says. “All you see is nature and it is like a respite, an area of relaxation, and it becomes part of the healing process.”

To help patients navigate the building, Garcia faced a special challenge since 29 languages were spoken among the patient population. The signage, then, become important, and even in that he continued his initial concept, using different animals to represent difference services. “A walrus is the dental services,” Garcia says.

 

Well Sited

It was important to Garcia that the building was part of the neighborhood. The clean lines and the use of metal and glass all speak the language of stability. When patients approach the building, they don’t see asphalt and concrete and parked cars; they see the whole campus.

“It’s as comprehensively complete a building as I’ve been involved in,” Garcia says. “It did not get compromised. We smartly put a budget together, and we spent the dollars reasonably. The product is for the patient. There’s no problem attracting doctors, nurses and clinicians here. They want to be a part of this. The concept stayed true and strong.”

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Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, Kansas City, Mo.

Building owner: Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center
Project size: 68,000 square feet
Completion date: April 2012
Architect: Garcia Architecture, Kansas City
General contractor: J.E. Dunn, Kansas City
Metal panel installers: Davila Sheet Metal, Raytown, Mo., and Standard Sheet Metal, Kansas City
Curtainwall: Kawneer Co. Inc., Norcross, Ga., www.kawneer.com[2]
Metal wall panels: VMZINC by Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C., www.vmzinc-us.com[3]

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/a-protective-wing/

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