PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Completed Spring 1997

The Texas Specialist Center, a 6,300 square foot, single story clinic is the result of a collaboration between a well-informed client and architects interested in sustainable, energy-efficient design. The client came to the firm with a desire to produce an environmentally sensitive building.

Every aspect of the building's design was affected by the doctor's environmental goals: from siting to minimize solar exposure to installation of a rainwater system. The many windows are operable, and reducing energy costs by decreasing the amount of electric light required and by providing ventilation. Photovoltaic panels were installed on the roof, electricity generated is stored in batteries for an emergency backup for the building's computer and security systems.

Improving indoor air quality was a high priority. An important factor in the development of environmental illness is long-term exposure. Many substances that, over time, would not be irritating, may become so over time. Therefore, every effort was made to select materials that did not include or produce potentially harmful substances. Mechanical systems were carefully cleaned and then sealed to further improve air quality.

The foundation is a suspended structural slab, the frame is composed of both steel and locally harvested pine. A standing seam galvalume roof sits atop pre-manufactured wood roof trusses. The clinic's exterior is finished in brick and traditional three-coat stucco.