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This project is essentially about patients experiencing an atmosphere of light and hope. Southwest Breast and Aesthetics (SWBA) is an atypical Doctor’s office for women, whose business is primarily focused on breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients. Plastic Surgeons are typically the 2nd Doctor visited after diagnosis, usually with loved ones for support and are a patient for a minimum of 18-24 months. The plan (patient journey) is a counter-clockwise circulatory route that always goes toward the light. Both plan, section and materiality maximize and amplify the abundant light and volume found on our initial site visit to create an enveloping atmosphere of safety, comfort and inclusion. Acoustic privacy was an absolute as was clarity of speech in both private/public spaces.
The 301m2 TI space was selected for its ground level 4m high corner volume with abundant north/east shaded light, north mountain views, its convenient street frontage on major E-W arterial (Camelback Road) and its location opposite an affordable AC Hotel for patients and families traveling from out-of-town or out-of-state. The dynamic between this Interior and the street, distant Pietswa Peak and sky of our Desert Oasis is about discreet micro-macro connections to the available north, east and south "City space", as well as larger connections to the deep historical context of this place, which is the almost perpetual Arizona blue sky (or our "colored air/light"). Here, the dynamic between our neutral material palette is about presencing those specificities of this "place" and "ourselves".
1st, this efficient 301m2 Interior within a LEED Certified building is an atypical long-use / long-term TI designed to work beyond its 10YR lease period by leveraging its inherent locational assets with a design that is well-conceived/well-crafted to be resonant with its place, program and users well into the future beyond the normal short life span of such projects. 2nd, strategies, materials and technologies utilized are common to most all TI projects, but in this case are elevated through "detail and craft" toward excellence in performance for their requisite function(s), as well as excellence in aspirational service commensurate with our clients state-of-the-art medical care to their patients and their families. Note list of materials used and those avoided. Longevity was the goal.
The 4M/13' high section utilizes the given volume to the maximum extent, directing ample peripheral light into Offices/Consultation/Exam Rooms and further inward thru 5' high glass clerestories onto the circulation route with Med Assist work areas. A strong 8' high datum of ¼" steel plate rings peripheral private spaces incorporating acoustic doors and canted glass clerestories to reduce acoustic reverberation in both public/private spaces. An acoustic curtain of color separates first visit/office circulation from follow-up visits, wherein the former route directs patients to the normal "corner office", which in this case is reserved for the first Doctor/Staff consultation "with a woman and her support group". In the center of the plan are support spaces fronted by an entry wall of light.
The point of the white neutral palette is to presence the changing color of natural light. Counterpoint is to subtly presence playful ranges of color thru hard and soft (acoustic) furnishings including ceiling lamps and a curated "ART program". White is also a neutral backdrop to black silk robes often required for female patients. This graphic becomes the graphics. SWBA's Interiors are choices to extend/amplify light (color) to envelop each patient's journey within a rejuvenative atmosphere.
Wendell Burnette is a self-taught architect with an internationally recognized body of work. Based in Phoenix for over twenty-seven years, Burnette’s studio is concerned with space, light, context, and community. Originally from Nashville, Burnette discovered the southwest desert as an apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. He was a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University for fifteen plus years and teaches and lectures widely in the United States and abroad. His design philosophy is grounded in listening and distilling the essence of a project to create highly specific architecture that is resonant with people, program and place, while being at once functional and poetic. WBA's projects include residences located across US, public libraries, community centers, museums, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and hospitality (hotels, spas and restaurants) including the much acclaimed Amangiri Resort in southern Utah, as well as other works internationally.
