Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview, in Metairie, Louisiana: 2024 Design Showcase Honorable Mention
Tim Mueller
Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview: The interior design team chose hospitality-style finishes, including terrazzo, stone-inspired porcelain, wood-like wall coverings, and cove lighting. Prominent soffits and changes in flooring materials help patients navigate through the spaces and identify key areas, such as the first-floor registration desk.
Tim Mueller
Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview: The exterior design features a combination of precast and insulated metal panels, glazing, and branding elements including the Ochsner logo and signature blue color, to create a distinctive building façade.
Chad Chenier
Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview: On the second floor, surgery pre/post-op private bags use durable and cost-effective materials, such as plastic laminate and solid surface surrounds, for a contemporary design and ease of maintenance.
This article was originally published on December 2, 2024, and is among Healthcare Design’s project awards roundup of 2024 To see a full list, click here.
Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview, in Metairie, Louisiana: 2024 Design Showcase Honorable Mention
Armed with past experience redeveloping former retail buildings into care sites, Ochsner Health took on its largest effort to date when it transformed a former Sears department store into the Ochsner Medical Complex – Clearview, in Metairie, La.
Opened in February 2023, the 202,000-square-foot project brings multiple health and wellness services under one roof, including primary and specialty care clinics, a surgical unit with eight operating rooms, drive-thru pharmacy, endoscopy sand pain suites, health and wellness spa, and a 10-bed inpatient unit for overnight stays.
The project team, including Grace Hebert Curtis Architects LLC (Baton Rouge, La.), which submitted the project to the Design Showcase, had to overcome several challenges, including integrating medical facilities within a pre-existing retail grid.
For the exam rooms, the solution was to size the rooms to align with the retail facility’s grid, accommodating a ratio of 2.5 rooms per bay to minimize column interference. Turning to the big-box building, the project team carved out a corner of the existing structure to bring daylight into the interiors while enabling the first-floor lobby to gain access to future retail developments.
The project team also facilitated the seamless addition of a third floor (including shell space for future clinic pods), with the ability to add a future fourth level.
Diagonal bracing of the existing concrete structure was incorporated to support the additional floors, necessitating close collaboration between planners and structural engineers for placement of walls, doors, and openings.
The interiors feature a high-end aesthetic with a finish palette that blends naturally inspired materials with the client’s signature blue color and branding elements.
A “retail interchange” in the main lobby—including a vision center, hearing solutions center, and Elevate Spa—provides patients with an opportunity to purchase items to support their wellness journeys.
For more coverage of Healthcare Design’s 2024 Design Showcase, go here.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design. She can be reached at [email protected].
