Vanderbilt Health Belle Meade

Blair + Mui Dowd Architects, PC

The selected site is approximately 20 minutes from the downtown hospital and is situated between 2 major highways near other retail centers. It is a former grocery store that is leased space in a retail development with ample parking.
Prior to the lease execution, VUMC commissioned a facility assessment and feasibility study. The design team evaluated the single-story retail building for structural capacity, envelope condition, zoning requirements, and site access. The adjacent railroad track was identified as a potential source of vibrations. The completed vibration study led us to locate the operating rooms towards building’s rear and to replace the existing slab-on-grade with a thicker slab at the new ORs.
To meet VUMC’s goal of delivering appropriate clinical care where it is needed and convenient to patients, Vanderbilt financial analysts determined which medical services were being requested by which community by evaluating patients’ zip codes. The analysis led to the selection of orthopedics, urology, general surgery, and cancer as service lines for the Vanderbilt Health Belle Meade.
With 8 departments to support the 4 main service lines, the planning challenge was how to provide clear circulation and wayfinding to each clinic, infusion center, imaging suite, lab, and pre-op area while allowing each service to have their own identity. The facility was designed so patients and visitors enter a common waiting room off the entrance while staff and supplies enter from the building’s sides and rear. Each service has a separate reception desk with identity signage in the waiting room. Patients check-in at their respective reception, enter the department via the door located next to the desk, and return to waiting via the same corridor.
Interior finishes follow standardized Vanderbilt Health colors and materials to maintain the VUMC identity. All staffed reception desks and nurse stations have dropped soffits and lower ceiling heights while patient care spaces such as recovery and infusion bays are provided with high ceilings that are proportional to their large suite sizes.
The building's exterior envelope and interior structure were preserved. The existing plaster façade was punched with new aluminum windows. The former small entrance was replaced with new metal panels, aluminum-and-glass curtain wall, and a tapered metal canopy to represent the new ambulatory health facility within. The adaptive reuse of the former grocery store helped the project meet its $40m budget and expedited schedule as well as contributed to its USGBC award of LEED Silver.