BPA Architecture & Design

St. Vincent's St. Clair Replacement Hospital Opens

On Saturday, December 10 St. Vincent's proudly opened their new replacement hospital in Pell City, Alabama: St. Vincent's St. Clair Hospital. The hospital touts a full compliment of services which include a state of the art Diagnostic Department, Emergency Department, 40-bed Patient Wing (with ICU) and Surgical Suite. An adjacent Medical Office Building will house physician practices to provide a variety of outpatient services.

From a design standpoint, our goal was to create a hospital of the appropriate scale that would command a strong presence along the I-20 corridor. Working with the St. Clair County Healthcare Authority, St. Vincent's Health System, St. Clair County Economic Development Council, the City of Pell City, and the St. Clair County Commission, the challenges were many and varied, but the final outcome is one that meets the needs of the community.

Birchfield Penuel and Associates thanks all of those involved, we are blessed to be a part of such a special project.

a BPA Christmas

 

 

Things are slowing down as we leave one by one for our respective holiday vacations.   Meanwhile, at BPA, we are drinking in every last moment of holiday cheer.

Today we gathered at Do Di Yo's in Homewood for a festive holiday lunch.  Then we came back to load up Maria's car with poinsettia's.  Every year BPA donates our foyer poinsettias (purchased through the UCP Poinsettia Drive) to East Glen Skilled Nursing Facility to enjoy over the Christmas break.  We think this year was a record setter for number of poinsettias crammed in Maria's car.  

 

Merry Christmas!

A Biltmore Christmas

There is nothing quite as festive as a castle dressed for the holidays.  Often referred to as America’s castle, the Biltmore Estate goes all out for Christmas.  Last week, one of our architects trekked up to historic Asheville, NC to experience the Biltmore’s holiday tradition.   

 The Biltmore house was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for the George W. Vanderbilt family and modeled after three French chateaux.  Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park, is responsible for designing the grounds.  After six years of construction, the house originally opened for the first time on Christmas Eve 1895.  The same excitement that the Vanderbilt family felt as they walked into this masterpiece for the first time will enchant you as you drive up to the house,  taking in all the splendor. 

This view was captured for us by Tom Kidwell.

http://christmas.biltmore.com/#/day

El Barrio

Wednesday night,  the long awaited El Barrio opened for customers.  This is the second restaurant for Brian Somershield and Geoff Lockert, co-owners of Trattoria Centrale, a Birmingham favorite.  It highlights south-of-the-border food with their signature talent for infusing fresh flavors.  A few of us headed downtown to 2nd Ave. N.  yesterday to try it out for lunch and were thrilled.

Along with amazing food, the interior space rivals as being equally tasteful.   Appleseed Workshop joined with architect Kyle D'Agostino to design & renovate what once was a vacant part of the Storkland baby and children's furniture store.   They achieved the perfect feel for a casual neighborhood restaurant that still feels like you are "going out" to eat.  Walking down 2nd avenue north in the evening, the glow of lights against the rich rustic plank wall will catch your eye,  a welcome addition to that city block.

Currently, El Barrio is open for lunch during the week.  Make sure to check it out.  We highly recommend the guacamole!

http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2011/04/trattoria_guys_plan_mexican_re.html

IIDA Designers & Students Tour of JCDH Tate Building Rennovations

After 2 - 1/2 years of planning and phased construction, the complete renovation of JCDH's central health clinic is nearing the end.  Architect Tom Kidwell and Interior Designer, Lydia Thomson led a group of IIDA members on a continuing education tour a few weeks back, sharing the strategies and lessons learned throughout the design & construction process.  IIDA offers this quarterly Forum program, highlighting IIDA member projects in Alabama.

Keep your eyes pealed for the unveiling of the final phase, scheduled to be complete by March 2012.

Birmingham and Urban Architecture: A Case Study, Part 1

Someone once said that, "As the purpose of art is to evoke an emotion, so the purpose of architecture is to evoke an experience." In educating those unfamiliar with the basic principles of architecture, I like to assume this statement to be true, as it generates a workable and even tangible definition of architecture that anyone can relate to. Birmingham is a perfect case study for the foundational principles of urban architecture. Often side by side, both good and bad architectural practices within the city are easy to point out. In this first installment, we'll take an general approach to some basic tenents of Architecture by looking at some successful examples along Highland Avenue in Birmingham's Southside.

Green space, green space, green space! People are naturally attracted to green space. Pocket parks, community parks, planters, trees - the more the better!

Human Scale - wide shop windows and entrances lining and lighting the street seem to reduce the height and increase the depth of buildings. Pedestrians feel at ease walking alongside things more their size. Tall blank walls are domating and oppressive.

Accessibility and Convenience - Sidewalks and crosswalks are abundant and everything you need for the week is within a short, pleasant walking distance from where you live: food marts, drug stores, restaurants, retail, businesses.

Buffers / Zones - If we're going to walk to a destination, it doesn't matter how nice the experience, if we don't feel safe, we aren't going to go. Creating buffers between moving traffic, parked cars, and pedestrians increases security while opening up opportunities for space-making. Planted medians and tree-lined sidewalks serve a useful function while enhancing the experience.

Whether we notice it or not, we all like good architecture. We are drawn to it and seek it out...because somehow we know that with good architecture we are guaranteed to experience something special. Stay tuned for more installments...

Habitat Saturday

Early Saturday morning, on November 5, 12 of BPA's brightest architects & designers headed down to Center Point, AL to give a day of construction labor to Habitat for Humanity.  By the end of the day, our group, along with members of the Habitat team & other volunteers,  succeeded in installing the front door, attic access door,  in wall blocking,  rigid insulation work,  cross bracing on the trusses and most of the vinyl siding on the Johnson family house.  Starbucks coffee & a special Krispy Kreme drop off kept the team running.  This year, no casualties and lots of good memories.  Way to go team!

Health Care Design Trend: The Hybrid O.R.

In today's technology-infused health care environment, our hospital clients are constantly looking to improve care models and procedures. One area in particular that we see an exciting trend is the Hybrid Operation Room

What is a Hybrid O.R?

In simple terms, it is the integration of advanced diagnostic imaging equipment with an operating room, in order to accomplish several goals: decrease the invasiveness of procedures, decrease recovery times, decrease the risk of infection to patients, and provide better overall surgical outcomes.

What Disciplines/Procedures are driving this change?

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery, Electrophysiology, Interventional Cardiology, Interventional Radiology, Peditraic Intervention

Where is the room located?

Hybrid ORs, because of their operating room requirements, are best located within Surgical Suites. Here, the infrastructure for sterile processing, HVAC systems, support, and prep/recovery, are already in place. Diagnostic Suites and Cath Labs would carry additional complications because they typically do not have OR infrastructure capabilities.

What are Physical Plant Implications?

Room layout: location of imaging equipment in relation to lighting, surgical table, anesthesia, equipment/gas booms, and other ancillary equipment

Room X-Ray Shielding

Room Size: 1,000+ sf

Computer Equipment Room

Imaging Control Room

What are the Advantages?

Minimally invasive procedures are possible: multiple and/or open incisions are replaced with smaller/fewer incisions. A reduction in recovery time and reduction in risks of infection are a result.

Allows different specialists to work side-by-side on a particular case

Allows surgeons to follow a diagnostic procedure with a surgical one

Some condtions that may have once required multiple procedures can be addressed in one session

 

There are many issues to consider when planning a Hybrid Operating Room, but it is an exciting evolution in how patients will be treated. Here are links with additional information:

Planning a hybrid operating room

Hybrid operating rooms pull double duty at hospitals

We took a little "fall break" on posts, but have returned. Be on the watch for several updates in the next few days.

This past week, several of our interior designers & graduate architects donated their crafty skills to design a pumpkin for the Ronald McDonald house. Firms around Birmingham got together on Wednesday to vote on the best designs. BPA walked away with "Best in Show" for our pumpkin named Witch Hazel. Dekalb Office hosted the event and delivered all the pumpkins to the Ronald McDonald House for a fall treat.

 

Holly's Homemade

 

For the past few years, one of BPA's administrative assistants and "Office Mom", Holly Stringfellow, has filled her time away from the office by baking tray upon tray of what we think are the south's finest pita chips.  What started out as a weekend hobby has quickly developed into a thriving side business for Holly.  As the holiday season approaches, you can find Holly and her delicious garlic pita chips (as well as her unbelieveable secret recipe chocolate sauce) at local gift fairs and holiday markets.  This Saturday, October 1st, from 9am - 5pm, you can find Holly at the Handmade Show: 115 Riveria Road in Homewood, AL.  To place an order, give her a call at 205.531.6947 or send an email to hollyshomemade1(at)gmail(dot)com.

Credits: labels and logo design by BPA's Alicia Pughsley