MCA provided programming, planning and interior design for a 29,600-sf renovation and 1,800-sf addition to Building 22H which houses VAMC’s new prototype for SARRTP (Substance Abuse Recovery + Rehabilitation Treatment Program). MCA collaborated with SARRTP staff to formulate the program.

Project Highlights

• MCA worked closely with the Civil engineer to mitigate the impact of the addition in the critical bay area. Additional trees were placed to frame the building without blocking views from the building to the bay.

• Through careful material selection and detailing MCA designed an addition which blends harmoniously with the existing building and the historical context of the campus.

• MCA developed a detailed four-phase construction plan that allows the building to remain occupied without a decrease in current bed capacity.

• The design has been organized to promote patent dignity and privacy for the residents while allowing easy access for other patients and visitors who arrive for daily programs. By placing the residential rooms in “pods” at the points farthest away from the main entrance and tunnel connection, all traffic can be restricted in these areas to the residential patients only by means of security devices such as card access. In addition, all staff and patient support and meeting spaces are placed closer to the core of the building and can be accessed without passing any patient rooms.

• The design of the patient room pods also allows the flexibility to designate individual wings as female only wings, ensuring an additional level of privacy and dignity for this segment of the patient population.

• Each residential pod has access to a laundry room and patient nourishment / lounge. The nourishment / lounge can be open to the corridor and serve as a place of respite without going out into one of the larger communal rooms within the public area.