NOVA Medical Group is a fully integrated medical practice providing an innovative approach to patient services. By combining a medical spa, internal medicine, and urgent care, NOVA can provide treatments for patients both conventionally and homeopathically—an important breakthrough in combined healthcare services.

The interior architecture of the facility focused on creating a comfortable, nature-inspired environment with close attention to color, detail, material, and scale. Upon entering the spa, one hears the tranquil sound of water. A backlit abstract transparency of orchids on the desk front sets an inviting tone for the space—a design contribution to the project by the client. Overhead, a translucent resin canopy suggests water and seems to levitate. The source of the sound is not immediately revealed until patients are led to the locker rooms past a bamboo-spouted water feature. A tranquility room is also available for relaxation before, between, or after treatments.

Project category: New construction (completed November 2004)

Chief administrator: Grace Keenan, MD, CEO/Medical Director, (703) 554-1100

Firm: Noelker and Hull Associates, Inc., (717) 263-8464

Design team: Michael G. Hull, AIA, President (Noelker and Hull Associates, Inc. [Architect]); Jeff Crist, Vice-President (Gatter & Diehl, Inc. [MEP]); Alan Ulmstead, Vice-President (Twin Contracting Corp. [General Contractor])

Photography: Mark Samu

Total building area (sq. ft.): 15,270

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $112

Total construction cost (excluding land): $1,710,285

The internal medicine and urgent care portion of the practice has a separate reception area and entrance with patient consultation areas. An indirectly lit reception desk greets everyone entering the space. Throughout the waiting area, a wall assemblage of various natural textures, colors, and recessed display areas was created with a combination of translucent resin panels, paint, and maple.


One of the first medical spas in the United States and unique to the region, this environment is appropriate to NOVA’s comprehensive practice, which incorporates both Western and Eastern medicine.