Project category: New construction (completed May 2005)

Chief administrator: Bert Hart, COO/Administrator, (225) 927-1190

Firm: Peterson Associates, PA, (704) 364-3400

Design team: Wayne L. Gregory, AIA, Vice-President, Principal-in-Charge; Michael A. Rogers, PE, Mechanical Engineer; William C. Fox, PE, Electrical Engineer; Interior Design, Peterson Associates, PA; Phillip Ritchie, PE, Structural Engineer (Little Diversfied Architectural Consulting); Susanne McCain, PE, Civil Engineer (Evans-Graves Engineers, Inc.)

Photography: © Chipper Hatter

Total building area (sq. ft.): 68,098

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $150

Total construction cost (excluding land): $10,225,852


The Digestive Health Center of Louisiana project is a new facility designed to meet the growing demands of the Baton Rouge area for the client with an eye toward the future. This building will keep the client in a state-of-the-art facility for years to come. It is subdivided into major components on two floors.

On the first floor, the new Endoscopy Center was designed with great patient flow, which supports more personalized patient care and excellent staff efficiency. Ten new procedure rooms are clustered around centrally located support space and adjacent, appropriately sized, pre- and post-op areas. The new design almost doubles the practice’s per-day capacity from 85 endoscopy procedures per day at the previous site to 150. Imaging is a new service for the center and is centrally located on the first floor. The final components on the first floor are the administrative suite, business offices, and break room.

The second floor contains all the clinic spaces. There are two major clinic areas, each designed around the pod concept. The pods allow for streamlined systems and processes to minimize wait/down time for patients. Staff works out of a central station that is immediately adjacent to all the exam rooms. Doctors’ offices are in private hallways adjacent to each pod, which allows for quick access to the pods while maintaining privacy and convenient access to the rest of the building without crossing patient traffic. Part of the second floor was designed for future expansion. During construction, a new program called “One Weigh” was added. This clinic was integrated into the design and works seamlessly while creating its own entry and identity.

This center has a relaxed, residential ambience both on the exterior and the interior. The exterior design incorporates design elements found in the Baton Rouge area. The building massing minimizes the overall size of the building to fit into the context of the surrounding community. The interior finishes have soothing colors, indirect lighting, and distinctive waiting rooms. Colors are coordinated throughout to create a unified center with distinctive areas and to simplify wayfinding for patients and staff.

The final result is a state-of-the-art facility that conveys a warm and inviting atmosphere that is conducive to quality patient care while being efficient for staff and doctors.