The Colorado Neurology and Headache Center is a 3,000 square-foot medical building near downtown Denver. It is located on a corner site adjacent to several hospitals and offers specialized treatment for serious headaches. The building contains areas for bio-feedback treatment and physical therapy, as well as reception space, offices and staff areas. Acoustical isolation and light control were important design considerations for this project.
Our client was interested in a Southwestern design for the building because he felt it was "friendly". As the architects, we felt the Southwestern vocabulary needed to be balanced by a rational approach to create a building that would seem "friendly" but at the same time be clearly recognized as a medical clinic. Color and materials were carefully selected to emphasize this concept: pink stucco - a traditional material of Southwestern architecture - contrasted with white machined architectural elements such as coping, windows and trim that emphasize a rational approach and impart a sense of modern medical imagery.
The South-facing courtyard is the primary space of the design. Conceived as a soothing oasis, it was designed with simple geometric forms. The courtyard consists of two square outdoor garden rooms: one square emphasizes soft and lush - like a green summer lawn - including a small reflecting pool, the other is comprised of a bosk of eight Newport plum trees in a hard court, providing summer shade and opportunities for winter use. The lobby, conference room, and staff lounge were designed around the courtyard.
On the interior, natural light was brought into the major spaces of the building, such as the lobby, conference room and staff lunch room via clerestory windows. A light trap was used so that only soft diffused light enters these spaces to prevent patients from being subjected to harsh, direct light. The bio-feedback rooms, where many of the headache patients are treated, was located on the North side of the building, so that again only diffused light enters.
