In Cambridge, Ontario, the Galt Health family medical clinic seeks to reimagine the healthcare experience. Cambridge-based Fonseka Studio has renovated a space in a standard office building, creating a warm, empathetic, and uplifting environment for both patients and staff alike. The clinic’s design focuses attention on well-being: a careful choice of materials, a pragmatic approach to layout, and an emphasis on natural light instills a feeling of calm throughout.
“The design was shaped by insights from doctors, staff, and community members who emphasized the importance of daylight, views, and a sense of openness in making medical spaces more humane,” says Fonseka Studio. Patient rooms have been placed in the center of the clinic — a bright and spacious circumambulatory pathway encircles these rooms, allowing for the continuous flow of movement. Meeting rooms and workstations are placed along the pathway. This straightforward layout also provides moments of respite by offering both patients and staff the opportunity to stop and connect with the outdoors.
Fonseka Studio has crafted an interior that is the antithesis of the typically sterile and lackluster clinical setting. Architectural elements, including ceiling heights, hallways, and sight lines, are designed with the patient experience in mind. The considered combination of wood, tactile materials, and an emphasis on natural light creates a warm, welcoming, and soothing space. The patient’s journey begins at the clinic’s intimate reception area; they are then guided to a spacious, light-filled, and tactile waiting room.
“During the renovation, the existing suspended ceiling was removed to reveal a transom window and exposed mechanical systems, which were reorganized to enhance the sense of openness,” explains Fonseka Studio. Newly installed wood-slatted ceilings conceal building services; varying in height, they provide a balance of privacy, openness, and daylight suitable to each particular space. Pitched ceilings in the patient rooms are designed to evoke a sense of comfort and home. Translucent window panels in each room filter daylight, brightening the interior.
Custom millwork and furniture was crafted by Jaliya Fonseka of Fonseka Studio — one notable feature is a 115-feet-long (35-meter-long) custom-made wooden bench that wraps around the clinic’s perimeter and provides views over the adjacent riverfront.
A robust, polished concrete floor acts as a reflective surface and helps to diffuse natural light throughout the clinic.
Fonseka Studio’s approach to the Galt Health project emphasizes the importance of sustainable design principles: The reuse of an existing structure and the local sourcing and milling of wood components minimizes waste. The clinic’s layout takes advantage of the building’s thermal properties — by centrally locating the patient rooms, heating and cooling needs are reduced. The abundance of natural daylight minimizes the need for LED lighting; automated sensors further minimize energy consumption.
Size: 2,650 square feet (246 square meters)
