Sports Medicine and Training Institute
PITTSBURGH, PA
CONCEPT
Oxygen is imperative for life. By inhaling and drinking water, this element is intimately and quite literally a part of us. Oxygen also plays a crucial role in recovery for athletes as it is a required element to rebuild muscles after they are broken down during exercise. This facility, like oxygen, will be the athlete’s tool for recovery and health. The goal of the design is to remind the athlete to keep their head up and breath. Spatially, the clinic will revolve around the focus of the athlete, the performance gym, composed of energetic and powerful materials and colors . Exam, research, and relaxation spaces will utilize a lighter and airy feel to promote recovery and focus.
GOAL
The goal of the design was to create a facility that welcomes athletes of all levels and ages. A place where the competitive player can fine tune their skills or recover from an injury and a place where the beginner athlete can feel comfortable, powerful, and valuable in their own skin and at their own pace. All while taking care of the medical staff and their daily needs at the workplace.
PROGRAMMING
Being a sports medicine facility, the focus of this design is to promote and support the athlete to their highest performance. Organizationally, the performance gym acts as the center of the design. It reminds patients and medical staff of their goals; all other spaces are supplemental to the athlete’s performance. Establishing separate medical staff and patient domains within the design, solidified privacy and independent space for both groups of users. Shared spaces then have easy access from both independent spaces of medical staff and patients.
LOBBY DEVELOPMENT
INITIAL DESIGN
A ceiling cutout with custom lighting was originally thought to bring a unique wayfinding technique to the design. Once a preliminary rendering was created, the overall effect felt chaotic and messy. The change in flooring in the waiting area also felt a bit too expected.
EXPERIMENTATION THROUGH SKETCH AND 3D MODELING
A sketch was created as a overlay of the rendering to experiment with new ways of defining the waiting area from circulation paths. Columns were added and a more organic shaped tray ceiling with acoustic treatment replaced the original cutout in this second rendering after the sketch seemed to be like a viable option. Once this rendering was created, the columns felt too restrictive and took away from the open and airy aesthetic of the design.
FINAL LOBBY DESIGN
The organic shaped tray ceiling with acoustical treatment enhanced the wayfinding of the design, which points the patients in the direction of treatment and performance areas. Columns were removed and a bleachable carpet inlay was added to the waiting area to contribute to noise absorption. Furniture choices and placement also helps define the node as well. To the left shows the final reflected ceiling plan of the lobby and the sketch of this area before final renderings were completed.
WAYFINDING
A blonde wood laminate is found throughout the entire facility. This material not only brings a natural element to the design, helping connect the user to nature, but it is also used as a wayfinding tool for patients to be guided from lobby to exam rooms. Perimeter lighting is also paired with this material, further guiding the user and encouraging them to keep their head up and breath. Exam rooms combine both elements as well, creating experiential consistency.
