Vision 3 Architects provided architectural and interior design services for Thundermist Community Health Center's newest location at 186 Providence St. This project is an adaptive reuse of a 120-year-old historic granite mill building that is known in the community as The Cotton Shed at Royal Mills. Working with State Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, Vision 3 prepared a design concept that preserves and features many historic elements of the building including the existing clerestory windows, heavy timber construction and exposed interior stone and brick walls. The new 18,000 s/f health center expands Thundermists's ability to serve their patients, and includes 28 exam rooms, a 75-100 person multi-purpose conference room, clinical, staff, and administrative spaces all on one level.
The challenge was how to create a healthcare facility in a 120-year-old mill building, while preserving as many historic features as possible. Vision 3 Architects took on this design challenge, and evaluated the center's needs in order to design a health center that not only complimented the historical features of the 2-story mill building, but also created an environment that supported the Patient-Centered Medical Home approach.
This included creating spaces that were flexible in size and layout to foster collaboration between the clinical teams, and that focus on ways to improve patient education.
Vision 3 Architects created a hotel style lobby environment that welcomes patients and families while challenging the concepts of traditional medical waiting and check in procedures. The urgent care exam room, right off the lobby space, serves patients efficiently and with extended hours that can greatly reduce the number of unnecessary emergency room visits. The community room, with a full teaching kitchen, an attached exam room, and teleconferencing capabilities, can serve as a community classroom, a staff fitness area, or when subdivided into smaller rooms, can serve multiple functions at once.