Over the last four years, CUBE 3 has served as the architect and interior designer for the Elliot Medical Center, a multiphase development in Londonderry, N.H.

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Still considered a young company, CUBE 3 Studio, a Lawrence, Mass.-based firm, has quickly made its mark on the healthcare sector by listening to its clients’ requests and planning design concepts within the strict parameters of budget and program goals.    

“Our design philosophy is that we do not impose our thoughts on our clients, but rather, we listen to what their goals are aesthetically and financially,” Senior Project Manager Adam Wagner says.    

“We come to the table with a development mentality that says the client should not have to pay for frivolous design and we design the client’s vision of what the project should be,” he adds.

Emphasizing Healthcare
Although CUBE 3 specializes in several sectors, healthcare has been a prosperous segment for the firm since its inception. “Healthcare represents between 25 and 30 percent of the firm’s portfolio, with the predominance of its healthcare projects located in the Northeast region,” Wagner says. “It has been a market that we have found success in, enhanced by the diverse range of projects that we are designing.    

“We can go from a corporate or a retail environment to a medical center, and surprisingly, there is a lot of crossover,” Wagner continues.     

The company has specialized in medical offices, outpatient community-based health centers, oncology clinics, ambulatory surgical centers and other institutional facilities. CUBE 3 provides programming and planning services, architectural and interior design and LEED certification.    

“As soon as you start talking healthcare, people expect high costs and expensive spaces; we find that it doesn’t have to be like that,” Wagner notes. “You can employ sound design principals and use good materials without being over the top. We can give you that knock-out space without taking advantage of an institutional-type budget.”   

“Because there are so many facets in healthcare design,” Wagner continues. “CUBE 3 takes care to make sure the patients, physicians, staff and technology are integrated.” The firm utilizes a variety of project management tools to collect, coordinate and distribute information, including 3-D modeling, end-user interviews and other support services such as feasibility studies and public design reviews. 

“The biggest tool that we are using is 3-D rendering technology,” Wagner notes. “When you start to incorporate patient insight into the design process, you have to remember that they are not architects or interior designers and often find it difficult to relate what is drawn to what the space will actually be.    

“The translation we have made from paper to 3-D modeling has been great. We can visually represent final materials and textures prior to those spaces being built.”   

CUBE 3 has a strong design, production and project management skill set that allows for rapid and integrated focus on the on-time delivery of project requirements.      

“First and foremost in any project, we meet with the client to determine the scope of the project, understand the goals including aesthetics, budget and schedule, and to assess the reasoning behind the project,” Wagner explains. “It is important to understand if the project is a new service, one that has grown out of its existing space or one that just might not be functioning well at its current configuration.       

“By understanding the goals for staff efficiency and the patient experience, the project sometimes paints a picture of what the design should be. We don’t try to change the operational model; we work to reinforce it through well executed spaces.”

Robust Portfolio
CUBE 3 has recently added several large-scale projects to its portfolio. The firm has served over the last four years as the architect and interior designer for the Elliot Medical Center in Londonderry, N.H. It is being constructed as a multi-phase development totaling 150,000 square feet.    

Phase one of this new outpatient facility includes a 49,000-square-foot primary care, urgent care, lab and a diagnostic imaging department. Phase two incorporates a 26,000-square-foot clinical oncology center for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and phase three is a 15,000-square-foot radiation oncology facility. The final phase will consist of a 60,000-square-foot medical office.   

Phase two, the Dana Farber Cancer Center, is scheduled to open in December 2008, and was designed to provide patients with several treatment options so that infusions and treatment could take place in private, semi-private or open rooms.    

The center includes 20 infusion bays, 12 exam rooms and support space for ancillary services such as massage therapy, reiki, pastoral care and counseling. The project also features a retail boutique.   

The Elliot Medical Center at Londonderry is designed with large atriums to allow natural light to penetrate into the space. Distinct functional uses within this building are connected by glass pedestrian links that provide direct access through the entire building.   

The design of this new facility is meant to blend with surrounding residential areas and meets the physical space requirements of the hospital.    

CUBE 3 worked in partnership with the Town of Londonderry and its historic commission to ensure that the facility was a compliment to other town services. The design team was able to secure approvals in only four months.   

In addition, CUBE 3 earned the contract to master plan and design the River’s Edge Medical Campus in Manchester, N.H.    

The project includes a 260,000-square-foot, $100 million Ambulatory Care Center for Elliot Health Systems, a 112,000-square-foot medical office building, a 13,000-square-foot retail building and a 30 unit residential building.    

The Ambulatory Care Center, which will be the first built phase of the project, includes a radiology suite, an ambulatory surgical floor, endoscopy, cardiac and pulmonary testing and rehab and a women’s breast health center.    

Two parking garages of 950 and 330 cars are also planned for the campus.   

The facility planning study began in 2006 with a goal to provide a state-of-the-art facility that was cost effective, flexible, while creating an accommodating environment for both staff and patients.    

Constructed on a brownfield site, the project is seeking LEED certification and is expected to open for occupancy in 2010.