MeadowView Lane Professional Center Wins Award

By HMG

HMG MeadowViewHMG’s new MeadowView Lane Professional Center, located at 2033 MeadowView Lane (adjacent to the new Eastman Credit Union facility), was recently awarded “Project of the Year” for 2005 by the Tri-Cities branch of the Associated General Contractors of Tennessee. The win was announced at the chapter’s 14th annual Tri-Cities AGC Excellence Awards.

“The AGC annual awards banquet is our version of the Oscars,” quips Luther Cain of GoinsRashCain, Inc., the general contractor for the building. “We are very, very pleased. This award recognizes that the MeadowView Lane Professional Center represents what our group of peers considers to be the best design and best construction of anything in 2005.”

Tri-Cities’ Thomas Weems of Thomas Weems Architect, who was awarded “Architect of the Year” based on his design of the MeadowView Lane project, says he is most pleased with the way the building design successfully “incorporates the owners desire to develop a plan that facilitates patient flow and care within an environment that is not institutional.”

According to HMG Facilities Manager Todd Miller, the win is largely the result of a team of like-minded individuals creating a facility designed for the ease of the patient.

“When we began this project, we knew we wanted to create a facility that was unlike anything out there—one that was designed for the ease of the patient, instead of the ease of the staff,” begins Miller. “Together, with Thomas Weems Architecture and GRC Inc., we set out to create a medical facility that was cutting-edge in its emphasis on patient convenience and ease of care.”

Constructed of white-orchid stone brick, accented by copper downspouts and solid, fir timbers, the 65,000 sq. ft., 3-story facility and its expansive open design—creatively crafted around a central core—is a model for health care facilities across the nation desiring to maximize patient convenience in an atmosphere that is warm and inviting. With two dedicated, tumbled-slate water “walls” and a welcoming combination of rich maple woods and faux-finished ceilings, the Center’s décor is reminiscent of a mountain lodge retreat.

“What makes this building so remarkable is the ease for the patient—the level of patient convenience is incredible,” says Miller. “Within only a matter of three or four steps, the patient enjoys a level of privacy that is unheard of in an environment that is absent of the institutional feel of most physician offices. You don’t have to walk past 4 nurses and 3 doctors to get to the privacy of your exam room. It’s designed so that you, as the patient, feel as if you were the most important appointment your provider has all day.”

Though the building was not judged based on its ability to accommodate patients, Miller says he feels the entire team’s vision for the project contributed to the overall quality of workmanship—thus contributing to the AGC award.