The needs of many disciplines come together in the Wortman Medical Science Center, a medical professional and education/training building in Pasco, WA. Designing a building for multiple purposes that reflects the feel of the neighborhood was the task of MMEC Architecture & Interiors, Spokane, WA. The firm selected SinoCore® by Citadel Architectural Products for a modern aesthetic with low maintenance and inherent durability.

“We wanted to design an attractive building that fit nicely within the neighborhood in Richland and also had a modern clean appearance,” says David Smart, AIA, with MMEC Architecture. “A big driver to the program was the unique functioning characteristics of the first-floor clinic, how they managed patients and how they could increase their operational efficiency.”

The project partners that set out to jointly share the space were Columbia Basin College and Kadlec Medical Center. They wanted a building that would provide an opportunity for partnership in the education and training of medical professionals. The result is a 4-story, 72,600-square-foot building where the main floor houses a residency clinic for training emerging doctors while serving low-income patients. The upper floors provide educational opportunities for the college's growing medical assistant, nursing and EMT programs.

The installer, Cobra Bec Inc., Spokane, (now part of Flynn Group) installed 5,500 square feet of SinoCore, a one-piece molding system. The colors Sky Blue, North Sea Mist and Gun Metal were selected to showcase the Columbia Basin College’s school colors and Kadlec Medical Center’s colors of blue, gray and slate. The panels were sold by Pacific Architectural Products, Clackamas, WA.

SinoCore, a field-assembled system that has flat aluminum panels with perimeter trim moldings, has a fluted, 4-mm-high density polypropylene core. This gives the panels a nominal weight of about 0.58 to 0.77 pounds per square foot, making it a lightweight cladding option that is easy to install. The system is designed to be completely sealed to keep all moisture away from a structure.

Smart notes, “We like the product support that Citadel offers to designers. We also like the simplicity of the design and the clean modern lines of the assembly. We like the modern appearance and variety of colors that metal panels offer. They also offer a lot of value due to their low price and maintenance costs and high durability. They are very complementary to the large expanses of curtainwall systems that we prefer.”

The center has 32 exams rooms, an X-ray room and doctors’ offices as well as college classrooms, simulation labs, computer labs and conference rooms. The metal panels showcase the medical purpose of the building while complementing the metal wall panels of the Richland City Library, which is across the street. The center is an inviting space that is ready to promote health, wellness and education with a modern flair and technology-driven focus.