Designed as a major addition to an existing low-rise diagnostic center, the new
$77 million, seven-story St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center in Boardman, Ohio, is the cornerstone for future campus expansion. The continuation of the existing structure’s array of exterior forms and materials was critical to the health center’s design.
“In the design, we sought to create a patient focused healing environment with a modern, but not trendy, building that could readily accommodate incremental growth during the coming decades,” said Rodney Lamberson, AIA, ACHA, vice president and principal of Strollo Architects, Youngstown, Ohio.
The health center uses colors, nature, natural light, artwork, water features and classical music to create a healing environment that is calming topatients, visitors and staff. Patients have private rooms and bathrooms, and amenities include flat screen televisions and wireless Internet.
As part of a key design element, the acute care facility utilized more than 25,000 square feet(2,323 m2) of Indianapolis-based Citadel Architectural Products’ Envelope 2000 Rain Screen panels. The metal composite material panels were finished in Clear Anodized and interfaced with brick masonry.
“We sought to create a modern, forward-looking building with a palate of materials that would be available in years to come; materials that would project a fresh, clean appearance emblematic of this healing environment,” Lamberson added. “The contrast created by the Citadel panels and the red brick fit the bill perfectly. In addition, this use of two dissimilar materials enabled us to break down the overall scale of the building.”
According to Lamberson, the new building is very much the center of the campus-both physically and visually. “The other structures on campus are clearly of the same family, but subservient.”
Lamberson also noted that Citadel’s rainscreen system integrated well with the window system and louvers. The Vert-A-Cade louvers and Econoscreen mechanical equipment screen are from Construction Specialties Inc., Cranford, N.J. The Citadel system was fabricated by East Coast Metal Systems, Bellaire, Ohio, and installed by Carroll Glass, Euclid, Ohio.
Citadel Architectural Products
Construction Specialties Inc.
