Title: University of South Carolina Center for Health and Well-Being
Location of Proejct: Columbia, South Carolina
Project Completion Date: 2018
Firm Name: Quackenbush Architects + Planners

Short Description: This new 68,000 square foot facility, centrally located in a thriving university campus, is dedicated to the holistic pursuit of health, wellness, and well-being. In addition to clinical and laboratory areas traditionally found in a campus infirmary, this center also contains varied facilities for wellness education and counseling. Emotional and biophilic effects of color, daylighting, texture, and plantings shape the interiors, with environmental graphics interwoven to further the message of well-being. The exterior form and siting along a major pedestrian corridor draws students to the resources within.

Architect's Statement: This new 68,000 sf Center for Health and Well-Being, located in the heart of a university campus between the main library and the student union, expands the role of a traditional student health center to support students academically, physically, and mentally in the pursuit of lifelong wellness. Notions of a traditional infirmary are displaced by a new focus on a proactive, holistic approach to student health which will, in the words of the University, "empower the community to be self-directed, well-informed consumers of health care,” while also impacting student retention and graduation rates. The building supports the University’s master plan goals--which include improving quality of life for faculty, staff, and students-- through its programming, its architecture, and its placement on the campus.

National medical planning experts engaged in programming sessions with stakeholders, end users and student groups, ensuring high functionality in the convergence of a robust complement of clinical, medical, mental health, advocacy, and preventive and wellness services. Programmed spaces include clinics for general medicine, women’s care, sports medicine/orthopedics, allergy, and immunization. Support spaces include radiography and consulting offices for nutrition, counseling, wellness, psychiatric services, and a retail pharmacy. Services for mental health are in the adjacent, repurposed building. Students come to the center not only to be treated for illness, but also to learn about nutrition, sexual health, stress management and other aspects of wellness pertinent to modern-day life on a college campus.

Because the facility provides such a broad range of services, the balance of public and private within the building is carefully modulated. Clinic areas are located on the third and fourth floors of the building. The fifth floor is reserved for executive staff. Because of the focus on making healthy living simple, a feeling of approachability was essential to the design, to create an inviting destination where visitors may linger, study, take a class, or meet with friends and colleagues. The first two floors of the building are mostly public; the lobby features floor-to-ceiling windows to provide a sense of transparency and engage with the student community outside its doors.

The transparency of the building also creates a sense of bringing nature indoors, a core concept of biophilia, known in the medical field to reduce stress and anxiety. Reducing stress and anxiety is a major concern for the University, as universities across the country are experiencing significant increases in mental health diagnoses for students. Emotional and biophilic effects of color, daylighting, texture, and plantings also shape the interiors, with environmental graphics and branding interwoven to further the message of well-being. A metaphor of a tree is used, with each of the five stories of the building corresponding to a piece of the overall — root, soil, trunk, branches, and canopy. Each of these also corresponds to an aspect of overall health: spiritual, social, physical, emotional, and intellectual. Five shades of blue, green, and yellow—colors known to reduce stress and anxiety—were selected for these graphics as well as for the wayfinding signage incorporated throughout the building.

The message of wellness is clear in the architecture—from the design of the interiors and graphics to the tenants of sustainability which consider occupant health along with environmental, economic, and social sustainability. The LEED Gold-certified facility incorporates daylighting and views of the surrounding campus, a central automation system for the HVAC system to reduce energy consumption, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, occupancy sensors for lighting, and low-VOC materials to protect air quality.

The siting of the building further reinforces the mission of Student Health Services; working alongside the original student health center, the new building "touches the ground lightly", enhancing the definition of the surrounding area through landscaping and ramped walkways which form a gentle transition through campus. The accessibility and appearance of the site was improved through the process, with focus on minimizing disturbance to surrounding landmarks, existing brick pathways, and other significant features of this Tree Campus USA Award-winner campus. The use of terra cotta on the exterior mediates between the masonry buildings to the north and east and the marble and limestone buildings to the west and south. The building also mimics the proportions of the adjacent library and takes precedents from the mid-century modern portion of the campus surrounding the site, reinforcing identity and a sense of place while strengthening the campus fabric.