Dennis Avenue Health Center
Silver Spring, Maryland
client
Montgomery County
size
63,000 sf
certification
LEED Gold
type
New Construction
partner
Wilmot Sanz
Increasing demand for the health center’s services, including the only public Tuberculosis clinic in the County, the existing facility—originally designed as an elementary school—was undersized and inadequate. The facility is the first newly constructed health center in the County in over 30 years. Vital to the success of the project was the health center’s continuous delivery of care and services while the modern, state-of-the-art building was constructed.
Conveying respect and a sense of welcome was key to the design. Light fixtures, careful material selections, and the extensive use of glass in the entry give dignity to the public spaces.
Many patients are non-native English speakers, and wayfinding was given particular consideration. The building’s signage and organization maintain privacy, with health suites labeled with numbers rather than with the diseases that are treated in them.
The new building is stunning, and will allow us to provide health services to the Montgomery County community in a healthy environment.
Sr. Administrator, Communicable Disease and Epidemiology, DHHS
