Howard Building Corporation

Project Description

With over 100 years of education experience, West Coast University has become a leader in health care education, and the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program has been designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to become health care professionals and providers.  Beyond the education, the Dental Hygiene program also operates a dental clinic open to the public free of charge.  Students are supervised by registered dental hygienists and dentists and provide oral health services to families in the surrounding community for free.  When West Coast University engaged architects at SAA and Howard Building Corporation to build the clinic and the school’s dental training facilities, it was an honor to be part of a project that offers such a valuable community outreach program.

The 6,200 square foot facility includes the fully operational, 32-station Dental Clinic, as well as a Dental Simulation Laboratory, a Sterilization Laboratory, and a Pano X-Ray Room with digital viewing and assessment capabilities.  Typical of most medical projects, the space required a complex combination of utilities to operate the fully functional treatment areas and training areas.  Because the school is located on the 4^th floor of the building, the many utility services were run above the ceiling of the occupied 3^rd floor below.  Dedicated power, filtered water, vacuum and compressed air run to each chair and dental cabinet, with the necessary compressors, vacuums, water filtration system, transformer and electrical panels housed in a sound proof equipment room on the 3^rd floor.  The Simulation Lab creates an integrated audio visual experience, with students virtually training on a digital platform, and the X-Ray Room includes lead-lined walls and integrated digital equipment for reading the x-rays on networked monitors in the room.  The highly technical project was completed successfully due to the coordination and commitment of the entire team.