PORTFOLIO

LewisGale Hospital Alleghany hired CIRCLE to renovate the main lobby of their outdated 1979 facility. In addition to requiring updated and durable finishes, motifs, and color scheme, the space needed to incorporate six private patient registration desks, a café, a lounge area, and defined waiting areas to accommodate all visitors, including wheelchair-bound patients.

The challenge was that structural columns and drywall ceiling needed to be left in place so that current sprinkler heads and mechanical systems did not have to be relocated. The curved and radial geometry of the exterior walls, ceiling, and columns made this especially difficult. Acoustical privacy for patients checking in was of utmost importance in the layout.

We created a central path dividing the registration area from the waiting area and defined by the use of flooring color changes. The registration desks became an enclosed “pod” with walls short of the ceiling to avoid relocating sprinkler heads. We created partial height walls that defined wheelchair parking and enclosed the café seating area while blocking the winter wind gusts from the entry doors.

We selected all the finishes and furniture with durability and maintenance in mind, including the LVT plank flooring, stain-resistant coating on the waiting room upholstery, and the guest chairs. A layer of accent lighting and suspended ‘clouds’ detract from the dated look of the drywall ceiling. We selected a color scheme that resonates with that of the Lewis Gale’s statewide brand.