Project category: Remodel/Renovation (completed April 2007)

Chief administrator: John Johnson, CEO, (954) 492-5796

Firm: MGE Architects, (305) 444-0413

Design team: Jose Estevez, AIA, Principal-in-Charge; Maryann Pando-Avdakov, Project Manager; Bill Reed, RA, Construction Administrator (MGE Architects); Wayne Hannaka, Project Manager (Miller Construction); Jim Smith, Owner’s Representative (Miller Healthcare Services)

Photography: Scott B. Smith Photography, Inc.

Total building area (sq. ft.): 14,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $429

Total construction cost (excluding land): $6,000,000

The Diagnostic and Imaging Center became a reality with the generous help of Michael and Dianne Bienes, whose donation permitted Holy Cross Hospital to construct the center to support its overused inpatient imaging facilities. The Center’s design was intended to evoke the elegance and serenity of a health spa.

A new entrance was created adjacent to the hospital’s central drop-off breezeway, allowing visitors to quickly identify where they are going and avoid getting lost in the hospital. This location also allows visitors to share the valet- parking services of the hospital’s main entrance.

Stepping into the lobby affords the visitor a pleasant and inviting environment, laid out in separate sitting arrangements to further enhance the noninstitutional feel of the facility. Some areas are designed for quiet reading, others for viewing informative TV programming, and yet another area for refreshments. All public areas of the facility offer Wi-Fi access.

Visitors are then directed to one of three subwaiting lobbies. These lobbies are furnished in upholstered seating with elegant fabrics. Each lobby has a feature wall of tile for easy identification. Where appropriate, dressing rooms are available, with wood-louvered doors and full-length mirrors.

The three modality groups are ultrasound, radiographic rooms, and the high-tech area with an open MRI, a CT scanner and a PET scanner. Each of these areas is designed to provide privacy and comfort for the patient, using warm finishes with the latest in technologic advances. Vinyl wood-look flooring is installed throughout, using design features within the floor to enhance the wayfinding within the department.