Our firm served as lead architect for this 80,000 square foot health care and higher education facility, completed in 2007.  We partnered with Freeman/White, a Charlotte, NC firm specializing in healthcare design.  Freeman/White provided design and programming consultation in the schematic design and design development phases, with our firm producing construction documents and performing construction administration services, as well as designing furniture and signage.

The project site was formerly Marshall University’s football stadium.  This presented a unique challenge due to the elevation change from ‘field level’ to ‘street level.’    The first floor of the building is academic space used by Marshall’s Joan C. Edward’s School of Medicine.  This floor is accessed from the field level.  The academic spaces include a tiered classroom with a state-of-the-art audio-visual system, a clinical skills lab and reading room.  The upper three floors are clinical space, accessed from the main patient entry at the street level.  Also in the project scope was a post-tensioned concrete parking deck for patient parking.

The building utilizes soft earth tones, coordinated furnishings and warm lighting to create a comfortable atmosphere for its inhabitants.  The large exam rooms, acoustic control and centrally located nurse stations create a functional and pleasant environment for clinical practice.

Established in 1892, Douglass High School educated the black youth of the Huntington community until schools were integrated in 1961. In 1985, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Falling into disrepair over subsequent years, The Douglass Center project began in 1998 to save this community landmark through new uses. A complete restoration and adaptive reuse overhauled all aspects of the building in 1998. The exterior received new energy efficient windows, new roof and masonry restoration. The interior was renovated and now houses offices, medical outpatient facilities for Ebenezer Medical Outreach and classrooms.