Project Spotlight! VCU James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center

VCU’s new James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center was designed by the internationally-acclaimed architectural firm, Pei-Cobb-Freed & Partners, in collaboration with Philadelphia's Ballinger Architects. The new academic and research facility for the School of Medicine adds 200,000 square feet of clinical simulation, learning labs, classrooms, and research laboratories as well as student activity and administrative office space. This collaborative space is home to a transformed curriculum, setting a new standard in medical education.

KSA Interiors was brought on-board by VCU Facilities Management Department / Planning and Design Division for the selection and design of the furniture. KSA’s vision was to continue the architects’ blend of contemporary and sensible design concept into the furniture selection and design.

 

The building’s flexible learning environments are a vital element in the medical school’s innovative curriculum redesign and an integral driver of the furnishings’ design concept. Fittingly-named Student Interaction Areas, located at most floor lobby areas are ‘mini-commons’ areas designed to complement post-classroom learning and collaboration between students and faculty. Our design team used a variety of seating and standing-height collaborative dividers to accommodate a diversity of posture types and uses to support this environment. Classroom furnishings also support a challenging combination of flexibility and permanent technology. Acute audio-visual coordination was required to manage the use of flip-top tables and unique technology units for maximum technological effectiveness.

 

Image Courtesy of www.medschool.vcu.edu

 

A conserved 70-year-old mural, depicting images of staff physicians, nurses, patients, and medical equipment of both the 19th Century and 1930s and 1940s, is the focal point of the main-level Student Forum. In order to foster the design concept of sophistication, modern classic furniture was aptly placed near the mural and provides a stunning complement of rich red and neutral colors, enhancing the beauty of the mural. The historic mural was originally intended to expose medical students in the mid twentieth century to the cultural ideas and pursuits beyond medicine and to provide a glimpse into the history of the institution which opened its doors almost 100 years earlier in 1838. The interior designers’ placement of the modern classics provides a rich balance to the historical element of this mural while also tipping its hat to the contemporary features of the building’s architecture through chrome elements and sleek upholstery.

 

 

The design concepts of collaboration and sophistication are also evident in the upper-floor open office faculty and private administrative offices. A mix of warm wood finishes in the private areas paired with sleek, but inviting, low-height workstations, provide the interaction and sense of professionalism desired by both the school’s leadership and staff. The design team achieves these goals all the while ensuring that the interior environment aligns with the project's sustainability and LEED directives through the use of appropriate furnishings and interior materials, as well as through utilization of daylighting concepts.

 

Completed in the Spring of 2013, this new medical school building is a state-of-the-art, LEED Silver facility enabling increased class sizes and a transformative approach to medical education.

http://www.ksainteriors.com/portfolio/learn/

 

Photography Copyright (c) Eric Taylor Photography

VCU Tompkins McCaw Library - Multimedia Collaboration Center

 

One of the top medical libraries in the nation, Tompkins McCaw Library at Virginia Commonwealth University, has a rich heritage that dates back to 1932.  While maintaining its traditional roots, the library has not let convention impede its progressive ideas or diverse students and faculty.  KSA was asked to develop a new design solution for the Multimedia Collaboration Room.  The space functions as a self-serve facility for multimedia computing as well as collaboration space for study.  The library sought a contrast to more refined areas and wished for the space to possess a distinct energy, with flexibility and a casual, accommodating appeal.

 

KSA created a highly energized and hospitality inspired environment to reflect the informal and social appeal of collaboration and media use.  The design team's approach included a polarization of the color palette with a high saturation of electric pink and a contrast of black and bright white, and addressed many of the physical limitations of the basement location.

 

 

The room was split into two functions, a self-service multimedia area and a collaborative study area.  The multimedia stations follow a more traditional layout with systems furniture serving as technology anchors to accommodate wiring, power and data.  The collaborative study area utilizes active, mobile tables and seating to foster impromptu reconfiguration by the users to accommodate changing needs.  The use of booth seating proves to be very successful in study areas by creating small, intimate and personal spaces within the larger room.

 

Embracing a lean budget and ensuring durability were important factors in the project. Inspired value engineering led KSA designers to incorporate budget-friendly, but still aesthetically-significant, feature screens to mask the wire molding and conduits traversing the brick walls.

 

 

 

These dynamic feature screens were used only at pivotal locations and configured per manufactured pre-set sizes. Additionally, by addressing the low ceiling with stepped ceiling tiles accented by decorative downlights, an illusion of increased height is created. The end result is a dynamic, full departure from any other space within the building, creating a unique destination for students.