|
|
“We are located in a part of the country that usually favors traditional design solutions. But that wasn’t a factor when the hospital’s administration voted to support the creation of something totally new and different in environments for radiology analysis,” says James A. Amato, administrator for radiology for the University of Virginia Health System. Based in Charlottesville, the center was founded in 1825 by Thomas Jefferson and now operates a 500-bed hospital, numerous outpatient services and clinics throughout central Virginia.
UVA’s radiology department management team had observed that face-to-face interaction between clinicians had declined. Techniques such as the Picture Archiving System (PACS), a storage and retrieval system for high-resolution images, and digital radiology have increased clinical productivity but decreased the opportunities for radiologists to work together. When a 2,100-sq ft space was vacated three years ago, former department head Dr. Michael D. Dake seized the opportunity to champion a new design approach that would reverse this trend.
In addition to creating an environment that would “encourage interaction between medical professionals,” a second objective, says Amato, “was to build a showcase to market UVA’s ambitious dual social/technical program that will attract top radiology practitioners to join our staff.”
The futuristic space now acts as a test site for a larger installation to be built in approximately three years. “We wanted to accurately gauge the reactions of the staff to a dramatically changed environment before we finalized the permanent department that will be twice as large and include patient areas,” Amato adds.
 UVA commissioned the architecture firm of Perkins Eastman, a major healthcare facility planning and design firm, to develop a master plan, starting with the radiology analysis center. Pat Burke, an associate principal in the firm’s Charlotte, NC, office, was named project manager. “Our client from the outset wanted to push the state-of-the-art, to look beyond the boundaries of existing radiology analysis suites,” says Burke. Studying complex radiological images is typically a solitary exercise in dim surroundings, Dr. Dake explained to Burke. “He wanted us to create a lively environment that would provide visual relief without distracting the working radiologists,” Burke explains.
A DOSE OF RETAIL
To introduce fresh thinking into the process, Burke enlisted the counsel of designer Shay Lam based in Perkins Eastman’s New York City office. Lam, with a background in store design, stressed the importance of lighting and sound control in upscale shops and how these concepts could be applied to UVA’s atypical radiology department program. At this time, lighting designer Trey Adams joined the design team. “At the inception of the project, discussions with Pat and the client centered on illuminating light-sensitive environments, starting with cave-like spaces,” Adams recalls.
Adams and Burke devised an interior architecture/illumination plan that would provide relief from the monotonous enclosures where most radiological analysis occurs. Adams, who has designed lighting for boutiques and restaurants, began to translate Lam’s observations regarding retail environments into a lighting scheme that would be both contemporary and sophisticated.
 Typically, radiologists perform their analysis seated at individual carrel-like booths. Instead, architect Burke’s concept traded these closed-in, isolated workstations for a free-flowing open plan, based on a curving pattern borrowed from upscale apparel and accessories shop. In such layouts, the customer is subtly led from display to display, guided by changes in fixtures and lighting levels. “We eliminated a lot of straight lines,” Burke points out, “so people could see each other and the expanse of the space.”
For ambient illumination, Adams used recessed 32-W triple-tube CFL fixtures fitted with clear glass lenses. Ceiling-suspended sculptural free-form elements are meant to mimic clouds against a blue sky to bring a feeling of the outdoors into the windowless space. Uplighting for the cloud panels emanates from 5-W, 60-deg MR16 flood lamps with honeycomb baffle on a dimming circuit.
READING AND ROUNDING
There are two main sections in the department: the reading room and the rounding room. At the entrance to the reading room, a reception area sets the tone for the entire department. The yellow reception desk is softly molded and sits beneath a white cloud panel hovering overhead. To accent the wall behind the receptionist, Adams specified wall wash lighting beamed from 24-W, T5HO linear fluorescent 3,500K lamps. The reading room is furnished with several types of open office workstations that are being tested for performance. Burke established two special zones in the reading room that are expressions of the innovative curved geometry he employed throughout the project. A pole-mounted cluster of teardrop-shaped polyester/resin panels (from Salt Lake City company 3form) identifies the area where neurological specialists can examine images while seated at workstations separated by a curved, sound-absorbing screen. Recessed luminaires above beam circles of light through the stretched panels. For small groups who wish to discuss a medical situation without disturbing the others in the room, Burke introduced a geodesic dome-type structure. Small, 50-W halogen track lights (from Tech Lighting) were pre-installed on the frame of the dome.
The rounding room, also referred to as the “image interpretation theater,” is carved out of the main reading room by a curved surface of luminous panels. “Each panel is 2-ft wide,” says Adams. “LEDs are mounted within the 8-ft-long, 1-in.-diameter polycarbonate tubes,” he indicates. A soft glow from the RGB clusters is controlled by a DMX system.
Medical personnel can adjust their swivel chairs to view images on the theater’s 10-ft by 5-ft screen area, comprised of six 50-in. cubes.
Burke reports that the design, which initially met with both intrigue and skepticism, is now generally seen as a success. “Nearly everyone who comes in for a tour is surprised at first, and then they express very positive reactions once they understand the motives for the design,” Burke indicates.
UVA has commissioned a six-month evaluation of the reading room, conducted by a graduate student in the university’s Systems and Information Engineering Department. He will study how the new components, including the lighting system, facilitate better workflow, encourage clinician collaboration and enhance radiologist satisfaction. “The results will help us determine which elements will transition to the permanent space,” Amato says.
|
