This project, a new building for Kno-Wal-Lin, is a favorite to share because of the collaborative approach that was used. The client, a home health care agency, had been leasing office space for several years. They had completely maxed out – to the point of almost violating safety codes because of the amount of people and equipment they were housing. We had redesigned the space to make it as efficient as possible; there were literally no more options for accommodating employees. One day the Executive Director called. “Our board met last night and they approved us purchasing a piece of land to build a new building. We want you to design it.” We assembled a team including Dick Reed of Reed & Co. Architecture, engineer Bill Whited of William E. Whited, Inc. and Construction Manager Dave Bission of Atlantic Coast Construction to create a new 12,000 square foot building for Kno-Wal-Lin.

Understanding the organization’s goals, plans for future growth, corporate culture and hierarchy are all part of the “programming” process. Early on, it was decided that we would reuse all existing office furniture panels (cubicles) and augment with new furniture only as necessary. The majority of their cubicles were a certain size footprint; it would be important to create an efficient layout. Using basic materials in an innovative way, the architect created a building that was aesthetically pleasing, yet efficient. The engineer proposed structural columns, spaced 25 feet on center. When reviewing the plans, Whited Planning + Design realized that if we had six more inches between the structural columns then we would be able to fit another row of cubicles in the space. Additionally, the plans called for baseboard perimeter heating. If instead, we used in-floor radiant perimeter heating we would avoid the bulky heat registers and be able to have cubicle partitions butt up directly against the walls. Because the varied design disciplines were working on the project together from the very beginning, we were able to catch details like this that allowed the client to have a more efficient, economical building.