Georgia Institute of Technology
Student Health Center
Atlanta, GA
Located adjacent to the Student Athletic Complex (SAC), the Student Health Center provides medical services for all Georgia Tech students.
The majority of space is allocated for clinical use, including a pharmacy, exam rooms, x-ray, laboratory and support space. The top floor is used for similar, yet separate, services, including a wellness center, women’s clinic, dental office and psychology suite. This two-story building was designed to highlight and complement the SAC next door; therefore, the building is slightly curved and shielded in glass in order to allow an unobstructed view of the entrance to the SAC.
Georgia Tech’s policy is to require all new buildings to be designed using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System as a guideline. Both horizontal and vertical sunshades are incorporated into the design of the center in order to shield the glass-enclosed areas from the sun as well as to help meet LEED requirements for energy efficiency. Each sunshade is positioned relative to the sun’s position in the sky and the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the building, thereby yielding the most effective result.
The Student Health Center is a design-build project that was finished in just under a year. In accordance with Georgia Tech’s master plan, the center was situated at a primary entrance and highly visible area of campus.