Frisco Building Wins National
Health Care Design Award
Legacy ER to Provide Unique Services and Structure
July 30, 2008 – FRISCO, TEXAS – Legacy ER, a unique, freestanding emergency room concept, is currently under construction on Legacy Drive and has already gained national recognition. Recently, Dallas-based 5G Studio received first place honors from the Center for Health Design due to the emphasis placed on the space, form, order, proportion and transparency of the building.
“The design program began with a mind set of solving the obvious challenges of operational practicality,” said architect Yen Ong of 5G Studio. “It became an obsessive pursuit toward an environment seeking to support healing.”
The three founders of Legacy ER, Kirk D. Mahon, M.D., Steven E. Martz, M.D., FACEP and Jay R. Woody, M.D., FACEP wanted a building that was more organic in nature and comforting to patients. To provide rooms with privacy, definition was made using opaque walls and translucent glazing panels. The effect is sound proofed rooms without the use of claustrophobic cubicles or draping. Exposed, polished concrete floors and exterior zinc panels further enhance the patient experience by offering a tactile quality, while natural light provides brightness without the harsh, sterile feel that artificial lighting traditionally offers.
Legacy ER’s state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open August 6 and will feature NASA-developed equipment and access to board-certified emergency physicians. Recent trends in the Dallas suburbs have brought in after-hours clinics, allowing patients to be seen when their normal family physician’s office is closed. While Legacy ER will provide typical urgent care services, their main focus is on emergency medicine, something that other area after-hours clinics are not equipped to handle.
“The functionality and overall feeling of the building is paramount to our patient care,” said Mahon. “We want to extend a natural, peaceful experience to all of our patients and feel that this award-winning design is a building block to that process.”
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