Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA is committed to modernizing and energizing health care for Veterans.  When the new H.J. Heinz Ambulatory Care Centre opens fall 2011, it will set the standard for world class Veterans health facilities.

Fabric Architecture North America was approached 2 years ago at the very start of the development and design of the new Centre.  The design intention was to create covered outdoor space which would be easy to navigate, offer patients access to nature, and create a tranquil ‘sanctuary’ area.  In addition, the Centre wanted to add to their eco credentials by reducing solar glare on all of the glass along the building’s façade, while giving the building a pleasing bright colour scheme. 

From the beginning, the H.J. Heinz Ambulatory Care Centre has been very thoughtful with its design. The design solution Fabric Architecture proposed was the installation of 2no. modified 5m x 3m Signature Structures called the Wave. In addition, we designed an 11 bay 30m x 2m bespoke Brise Soleil. The Waves create the ‘sanctuary’ space for patients and the Brise Solei covers the walkway into the building and offers solar reduction.

About the Wave:

In order to not have water pooling on the low points of the Wave Structures, we specified a mesh boarder. The boarder was high frequency welded to the PVC of the canopies and allows water to properly drain. This particular mesh was the same fabric used on the Khalifa Park project in Abu Dhabi and the Skylar Fountain in Pensacola, Florida.

About the Brise Soleil:

Working in partnership with Walsh Construction, Fabric Architecture was able to specify steel for the Brise Soleil early days and have it integrated into the framework of the building.  This allowed us to install the structure directly to the building as opposed to using external masts and foundations. Having the Brise Soleil affixed direct to the building creates a 'design lead look' and allows patients in wheelchairs easy access to the building.

We wanted to offer a special thanks to Walsh Construction for their support over the past two years on the project and to the H.J. Heinz Ambulatory Centre for their vision in creating a world class health facility for veterans.

The picture above of the Waves was sent in by our Installation Engineers via Iphone. Additional images will be featured in the project profile (soon to be uploaded)