In a bid to keep pace with the growing regional demand for orthopedic care, BayCare Clinic sought out EUA (Milwauke, Wisconsin) to craft its new 47,000-square-foot clinic. Specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine, the clinic will be located at BayCare’s Lakeside Campus in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where it will provide services such as physical therapy, urology, neurosurgery, pain and rehabilitation and eye care.

The overall design of the clinic focuses heavily on efficient function for staff and patients with considerations for movement in between the multiple departments on a regular basis.

Calming Maritime Themes Add a Natural Touch

The staff break room at Lakeside provides workers with plenty of natural views while also connecting to an exterior patio that looks out onto Lake Michigan.

Opened in August 2021, the project design is inspired by the maritime history as it sits alongside Lake Michigan, opening the facility up to the beautiful lake waters. The exterior structure itself is designed to emulate a ship hull while the interiors continue through on these aquatic themes. Traces of sand, driftwood, stone, water and other elements found near Lake Michigan greet patients and visitors in the color palette as they enter.

The building has also been designed to take full advantage of the lake views, with the spacious clinic featuring large windows that bring in immense amounts of natural light. A centrally located nurses’ station, along with connected breakroom and adjacent outdoor patio help promote staff connection and wellbeing throughout the day.

Set along the first floor is the gym/rehabilitation center and registration area, with dividers providing additional privacy for patients. From there, a monumental staircase connects the main waiting area to the second-floor physical therapy room, which helps encourage patient and staff mobility for those that can make the climb.

Four clinic pods within the building feature multipurpose exam rooms, with each one intentionally placed along the southern and eastern sides to ensure that these, too, will be able to have ample views of the lake.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister site Healthcare Design.