The new, one-story medical office building was designed with a focus on wellness and the pairing of clinical services with a spa-like environment. The building centers around the light-filled Apex Dermatology reception and lobby spaces that serve their flagship Dermatology Medical Practice, Medical Spa, Pathology Laboratory, Research Institute and Corporate Headquarters. The design team drew inspiration from the client’s vision of abundant natural daylight in public and private spaces.
The overall massing is an overlap of two rotated forms that respect the street grid, adjacent buildings, and angle the main entrance canopy towards the prominent site corner and office park entrance. The rotated forms are expressed in different materials, one masonry and the other wood and metal. The different heights of the two forms creates vertical public spaces, signage opportunities, mechanical screen walls and mezzanine storage areas.
The project integrates daylight and warm wood tones paired with a clinical aesthetic to create a calming, wellness-focused environment. To limit heat gain along the south-facing main lobby elevation, a playful wood screen wall with punched window openings creates a lighted pattern day and night along Cedar Road. The window pattern is designed as the word “SKIN” in Morse Code, honoring the founder’s military service.
Apex Dermatology + Skin currently has 12 locations across Northeast Ohio, all as tenants within existing buildings. As the first new building in their portfolio, the Apex Dermatology + Skin Surgery Center seeks to establish an image for the Apex brand.