'A sense of place': Connectivity and healing at ProMedica Health and Wellness Center

When global architectural firm HKS met with ProMedica to discuss the regional health system’s plans to consolidate 11 physician practices into its new Health and Wellness Center in Sylvania, Ohio, the medical provider made its expectations clear: the building needed to foster connectivity, flexibility and a sense of place within the community. Solarban® 72 solar control low-e glass by Vitro Glass, featuring an ultra-transparent Starphire® glass substrate, was integral to achieving that mandate.

HKS and a multidisciplinary team from ProMedica mapped out existing processes and defined a future operational mode in which more effective and collaborative care could be delivered. The result is a state-of-the-art, three-story, 230,000-square-foot structure. With 23 interconnected standard clinic modules, the center is designed for ease of movement for patients, staff and supplies. It also delivers the personal environment the ProMedica team desired, along with the flexibility to expand and contract to meet evolving space demands.

To enhance the sense of connection and complement its open concept design, HKS created two exposed-to-the-elements courtyards and a glass atrium that flood the gallery space with natural light and provide visual access to the outdoor environment. The firm chose Solarban^® 72 solar control low-e glass specifically to maximize the effects of that natural light and to provide a calm, healing aesthetic to patients.

Doug Dewar of glass fabricator Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope’s (OBE) Perrysburg, Ohio, location said Vitro Glass easily accommodated the above-average amount of glass needed for the job—more than 60,000 square feet—and credits the Vitro Concierge Program™ for keeping the project on track. “Everything went smoothly. The glass sizes were requested in phases, and once we called Vitro with an order, the glass would be on our floor virtually on a just-in-time basis,” Dewar explained.

“The Vitro Concierge Program gave us the flexibility to bring in the glass when we needed it. Knowing that the glass was readily available helped us schedule our manufacturing and service our customer in a timely fashion,” added Dewar, who works at OBE’s Perrysburg, Ohio, location.

Solarban 72 glass provides higher levels of transparency than Solarban 70XL glass without sacrificing solar control performance. With a triple-silver coating that is engineered for use on Starphire Ultra-Clear® glass, Solarban 72 glass has visible light transmittance of 71 percent in a standard 1-inch insulating glass unit, which is 11 percent higher than Solarban 70XL glass.

The ProMedica Health and Wellness Center, which opened in 2016, received an honorable mention in the 2016 Healthcare Design Showcase.

To learn more about Solarban 72 glass, Starphire glass and other high-performance glass products by Vitro Glass, visit www.vitroglazings.com.