Health designed into new building
Health Department to replace old headquarters
Shelby County has taken a step closer to erecting a new Health Department headquarters, a building with architecture designed to promote good health.
The county filed a construction-permit application Friday that estimates construction will cost $24.5 million. The 79,000-square-foot building will rise at the southwest corner of Jefferson and North Manassas, next door to the existing building it replaces once the new one is finished.
“We just saw that as an opportunity in how the Shelby County Health Department could epitomize good health: What are the ways the architecture could also encourage healthy living and lifestyles?” said Jason Jackson, architect for brg3s.
The exterior of the three-story building will be composite metal and glass. For those entering the building, the focal point will be a staircase designed to beckon users to climb it instead of taking the elevator.
Because the third floor is designed for lab spaces, the public would usually ascend no more than one level to the second floor anyway, Jackson said.
The stairs will be generously wide — 10 feet — to provide ample space to pass others on them, he said.
“And then the stairs also double as waiting/meeting space” with integrated seating, Jackson said.
“Folks can congregate and wait on
the stairs. It’s not just circulation; it’s also a place you can stay. You can wait for your appointment or meet with other folks,” he said.
Another design element that promotes good health is the way natural light will reach throughout the building.
Administration offices will generally occupy the spaces next to the exterior wall with floor-to-ceiling windows. Client-care, or exam, rooms will be in the interior of the building. But natural light will reach the middle rooms because “all the corridors are glass walls and glass doors,” Jackson said. “Natural light is shared from the exterior facade and through the corridors.”
No matter where people are inside the building, they are close to natural light and views outside.
Staff communication and efficiency among the 300-plus employees will be enhanced since the patient-care rooms and administrative offices will share the same corridors, Jackson said.
In addition to champagne-colored metal and glass, metal soffits are made to look like wood and the exterior will have some three-dimensional elements. “We wanted to make it look interesting,” Jackson said.
The existing building at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Dunlap will be demolished. A plaza and parking will replace it initially, but the space can eventually host another building when expansion is necessary. Health Department parking will occupy the north half of the block bordered by Jefferson, Manassas, Dunlap and Adams.
The existing building was erected about 1950, with additions in 1967 and 1971.