ColumbiaDoctors Midtown Wins Design Award
By Joseph Neighbor
ColumbiaDoctors Midtown, the new facility for the Columbia faculty practice, won a best in category award for ambulatory care in the 2013 Healthcare Interior Design Competition, held by the International Interior Design Association. The category recognizes “outstanding originality and excellence in the design and furnishings of healthcare interior spaces.”
The 125,000-square-foot facility, located at 51 W. 51st St., opened in January. It houses 225 physicians, dentists, and nurse practitioners in 14 specialties and accommodates 40 percent more patients than the practice's previous location on Manhattan's East Side.
The facility, designed by Perkins+Will, features large windows at the ends of the halls, which flood the building with natural light. Eco-friendly design features, including vinyl-free flooring and low-mercury lighting, make the practice energy-efficient and consistent with the rest of the building, which was awarded LEED gold certification. The floor plan was laid out with patients' needs in mind, placing related disciplines—e.g., pediatrics and obstetrics & gynecology—adjacent to one other. Not only is this convenient for the patients; it facilitates collaboration among doctors. Accent walls in the waiting rooms—smoky turquoise for dermatology, lakewater blue for cardiology—do more than add a touch of color; they are color coordinated with the signage, to help patients navigate the three-story complex.
ColumbiaDoctors Midtown offers comprehensive medical care, including cardiology, dermatology, psychiatry, radiology, and women’s health. Onsite are a full-service laboratory, walk-in practice, and primary and immediate care center, creating a one-stop-shopping health care experience. The facility is outfitted with a suite of diagnostic imaging services—X-ray, PET/CT and MRI, mammography, and fluoroscopy—plus more than 125 exam rooms and 30 rooms equipped for such procedures as endoscopy, skin treatments, and cardiac stress tests. Extensive facilities for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and sports therapy also are on site.