Project Details
COMPLETED:	August 2005
CATEGORY:	Healthcare
LOCATION:	Knoxville, TN
OWNER:	Covenant Health Properties

In a building environment surrounded by sickness and healing, stress and joy, a person must have an area to escape where a sense of everyday life may exist. The client's vision in this project was to create such a space. To take the existing cafeteria footprint with its institutional aesthetic and transform it into a retreat that people (patient families, general public visiting the campus, physicians, and other employees) would use to congregate and momentarily escape into a comfortable, relaxing, and stress-free setting. To accomplish this the design approach interjects materials and surfaces that add warmth like various wood finishes, interior plant areas, and soft lighting with modern materials of brushed metal, glass, and bright colors. Design elements were added to create a fluid motion, rhythm, and layered experience in the space, enhancing the feeling of comfort and relaxation. All together the design is an antidote to the clinical environments surrounding the patrons for the rest of their time at the hospital.