Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
T2pm, Limited was presented a project requiring detailed programing and creative space planning and problem solving for the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health department. The site selected was an existing commercial building formerly the headquarters of Granite Bank Corporation. The two-story building (10,000 square foot floor plates) was originally constructed in 2005 and contained 15,000 square feet of administration space and 5,000 square feet of retail branch bank operation complete with teller line, vault and drive-through.
Relocating approximately 100 physicians, Ph.Ds., researchers, technicians, nursing staff, administrators and support staff from the main campus of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC) to an off-campus location approximately five miles from the main campus offered unique challenges. Budget restrictions from the inception of the project and slightly smaller gross square footage than the existing department location required skilled T2pm, Limited change management to establish expectations and deliver client satisfaction.
T2pm, Limited managed the disposition of the bank equipment, which enabled the project team to offset construction costs and improve schedule performance by running the demolition concurrently with programming and design phases. The interior design solution maintained as many walls, restrooms and plumbing locations as possible to minimize construction cost. In addition, the engineering team was able to minimize HVAC costs by reusing as much of the existing building system as feasible.
Great care went into creating an environment that supported the treatment of both adult and pediatric patients. The two populations are subtly separated by reception area and waiting areas. Lighting, finishes, textures, furniture, flooring, wall coverings and paint were selected and coordinated for each specific area of treatment. Potential issues with sound played an exceptionally important role in the design of this extremely busy clinic. Specific sound attenuation measures from wall construction configurations and materials were selected and installed to minimize and reduce any transmission issues that might occur. Security is critical in any clinic and the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health clinic was no exception. Extensive coordination and conversation with WFBMC Security insured that both passive and active security systems were synchronized, installed, and manned.
WFBMC is a teaching facility so accommodations for meeting rooms, observation, play therapy, and instruction were included in the project along with exam, lab and phlebotomy areas. Staff and faculty requested places of respite away from their offices and the patients, so a central staff work area, break rooms, lounge space and outdoor eating areas were included in the design solution.
Close coordination between the project team, design team, and general contractor delivered exceptional scope adherence, limited changes, early project delivery and a final cost that was 11% below the already exceptionally tight budget.
T2pm, Limited worked with an executive committee made up of Psychiatry department personnel along with interdepartmental support groups to create a facility design program for the new building. T2pm, Limited inventoried and evaluated existing furniture, met individually with each faculty and staff member to understand their work style and determine how the furniture layout for each office would support their individual patient interaction. T2pm, Limited created multiple schematic designs, FF&E and construction budgets, schedules for all phases of construction and provided relocation management services. In addition, signage, landscaping and minor site work were coordinated between T2pm, Limited and Medical Center vendors.
