Architect
SMRT, Inc.
Portland, Maine
Project Highlights
Ouellet Associates won the contract to build the Women’s Health Pavilion at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center by a fortuitous twist of fate. A week before the final decision, facilities manager, Mike Grimmer, happened to see an OAI newsletter. Liking what he read about the company’s negotia-bid process, he asked for a last minute quote. We made the deadline and got the job.
Early on it became clear that expanding the facility to encompass a small parcel that would otherwise become landlocked made sound economic sense. The team demonstrated to the board that adding the 6,000 square feet of shelf space could be done very cost-effectively—far more so than at a later date. (Final costs came in below budget—making it a very cost-effective addition indeed.)
The first floor of the three-story Pavilion houses offices, examination rooms, a library and meeting room. The second floor is home to the Family Birthing Center, with LDRP rooms, a surgical suite and nursery. The birthing rooms are finished in cherry and have a very cozy, homelike feel. Prior to construction, the team built a full-size LDRP mock-up so the nursing staff could “test drive” it and provide feedback.
The building’s lower level houses endoscopy suites, a food court, patient record room and mechanical spaces.
One challenge to construction was the proximity of the boiler house—literally inches away from the site. OAI subsequently relocated and rebuilt that facility and has worked on numerous other projects on the St. Mary’s campus.