Case Studies

Over 45 years ago, a young couple bought a small subway car diner that grew into a very successful family business. 

A Fresh Take on Sunday School Design at Granger Community Church

Pastor Tim Stevens has no qualms about leaving some church traditions behind. “For decades the prevailing philosophy was to paint Sunday schools in plain colors, creating a subdued environment that wouldn’t get the kids too excited, so they would sit still and listen to the stories. We weren’t interested in that. We wanted an environment where the kids would be dragging parents back to church, rather than screaming when they got dropped off.”

Designed for Quality Care

Healthcare design requires a special blend of aesthetics, performance and empathy. The architects and designers at IKM Incorporated located in Pittsburgh, PA use these concepts to develop customized healthcare spaces, which make up 85 percent of their work. “As architects we feel we have the ability to improve healing and affect the quality of treatment,” says Matt Hansen, Architect and Project Manager for IKM. “We believe that if given the opportunity we can be an asset to nurses and physicians and help them to do their job in a more efficient way.” IKM bleds traditional, transitional and contemporary materials and colors to create specialized spaces.

A Soft Landing for Traumatized Kids

Designing a space that engages kids is one thing. Making it kid-proof is even tougher. Bring­ing these two elements together in a building that serves as a first stop for kids just extracted from dangerous and abusive situations is a feat of imagination, engineering and passion.

After a long day of meetings and hauling luggage in uncomfortable shoes, the weary traveler wants comfortable accommodations, not surprises. Branded hotel properties offer guests the expected, a consistent level of quality, service and amenities that help to make travel of any sort more pleasant. Maintaining a high standard involves significant planning and maintenance for the hotels, because as welcome as travelers are, they tend to have big expectations and little regard for how they treat the space. “Guests are not the most careful,” says Brett Rossell, Director of Purchasing for Theraldson Hospitality, a Fargo, ND- based developer, builder and manager of hotels, with over 200 business-oriented properties. “They will do some serious damage.” Rossell says this matter of factly, and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Rossell’s business is keeping properties nice, and he has a lot of experience and resources to help him do that. “We franchise with all of the major brands,” says Rossell, “Courtyard Inn, Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Staybridge Suites and more.”

Leaders at the Chickasaw Nation had the vision of creating a kid’s version of an entire town within the corridors of their Child Development Center. The center includes a post office, fire department, police station, bookstore, flower shop, and a movie theater. Each classroom resembles a scene you might see walking through a typical downtown.

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It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek when Landon Lawson, Project Director for Vanguard Health Systems quips that “Vanguard is the Vanguard of outcome-based quality healthcare,” but the company is certainly part of what is driving the big philosophical changes in healthcare design. “Our sole focus is healthcare,” says Lawson, “and it is really evolving from sick care to caring for health. We implement evidence based practices to move from a fee-for-service model, to a fee-for-value model.” With 28 facilities in five distinct markets (Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Texas), Vanguard cultivates locally branded health systems that meet the needs of the people in the region. The Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is a 214,000- squarefoot, 110-bed replacement facility that was recently completed in San Antonio, TX as a part of the Baptist Health System. Architects and designers from Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. (ESa) collaborated with the project owner and the care providers to develop a patient-centered, family friendly hospital. In addition to applying best practices for evidence-based healthcare, there were three design criteria that informed the specification of materials throughout the project: LEED Gold certification, regional harmony and creating a facility that is both light and quiet.

Finding A Way For Higher Education

Higher education is, in one sense, about finding a way to a better future. It is not always an easy course. To earn a credential, a student must have direction, dedication and an idea of what a successful future looks like. Institutions of higher learning are expected to embody those same traits. A great example of an edifice matching this ethos is the new Kent State University Regional Academic Center in Twinsburg, Ohio.