2013 BOY Winner: Healthcare
Firm: Merge Architects
Project: Greater Boston Orthodontics
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
Photography: John Horner
When expectations are sky high, but the budget is low, it’s time to innovate. Principal Elizabeth Whittaker, faced with a 100-year-old storefront on a suburban Main Street, proceeded to gut the 3,500 square feet, enough space for a double-height ortho bay as well as toothbrushing and sterilization stations, exam rooms, semiprivate offices, semi-enclosed labs, and a media bar. The architectural “wow” moment is a sculpted surface that directs sunshine down from skylights above the ortho bay: translucent white polycarbonate strips supported by curved ribs of CNC-cut plywood. Where the polycarbonate and plywood end, Whittaker built sink cabinets into the wall.
To warm things up, gray faux suede upholsters banquette cushions in the waiting room. Add friendly green wall graphics to provide way-finding, and patients are all smiles.
Project Team:
Deb Katz; Anne-Sophie Divenyi; Allison Austin; Parker Lee; Jammie Pelletier; Evan Hankin.