Medical — key plans
Medical Office is one of the five Professional Office sub-types. Its distinguishing feature is Zone 1 Habitat at 7.2 m — the widest of any sub-type — driven by exam-table depth plus the circulation required for both patient and clinician access. The depth is computed using the Building Width Calculator and feeds the Tile system that composes the floor plate.
The three sizes
| Size | Dental chairs | Code | Area (m²) | Area (SF) | Façade frontage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 2 | M3 | 223 | 2,401.5 | 718" (18.24 m) |
| Medium | 4 | M1 | 331 | 3,567.7 | 1,066-5/8" (27.10 m) |
| Large | 6 | M2 | 486 | 5,231.4 | 1,564" (39.73 m) |
The FFE codes are numbered by historical authoring order, not by size: M1 was the first dental-suite sample drawn, then M2 (Large) and M3 (Small). For external documents, size labels (Small / Medium / Large) are preferred over FFE codes.
Zone vocabulary
| Zone | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 — Habitat | 7.2 m (23'-10") | Widest Z1 across all use types — exam table + patient + clinician circulation |
| Zone 2 — Magazine | 4.9 m (16') | Medical supply storage, sterilisation, equipment staging |
| Zone 3 — Corridor | 2.9 m (9'-5") | Bilateral; ADA/CSA-B651 compliant width for stretcher and wheelchair passage |
Computed building width = 2 × (7.2 + 4.9) + 2.9 = 27.1 m (88'-11").
Furniture anchor — the KaVo uniQa dental chair
Every Medical sketch carries the KaVo uniQa dental chair as the reference SKU. Chair envelope: 2,451 mm × 2,898 mm. Each exam room is approximately 7,280 mm × 4,877 mm (~35.5 m²). The KaVo SKU is a tracked dependency: if the dental-chair line is updated, exam-room dimensions cascade.
M3 (Small) — 2 dental chairs
Suite components: one doctor's office, two exam rooms, one administrative office with reception window, one waiting area (6 patients), one storage room, one lab, one staff room.
Equipment list: mechanical room, workbench with 2–3 seats and sinks, autoclave (sterilisation), imaging room, file room, storage.
Key design notes from the cappelletti sestito architetti sketches (DRAFT 250512):
- Reception requires a direct line of sight to the entrance door.
- Waiting seats positioned outside Zone 1 so the façade is reserved for clinical Habitat.
- Second egress door required for emergencies.
M1 (Medium) — 4 dental chairs
M1 extends M3 with two additional exam rooms and a reorganised Zone 2 for additional clinical throughput. Key revisions: the File Room moves adjacent to Reception; the staff-room approach to the washroom adds a vestibule with a sink; waiting-room capacity increases.
M2 (Large) — 6 dental chairs
M2 extends M1 with two additional exam rooms, two doctor's offices, and a full Zone 2 build-out: mechanical/electrical, workbench with 2–3 seats and sink, file room, imaging and autoclave, staff room, atrium. Key revision: washrooms are paired as a single block (M+F or universal) rather than spread across the suite.
Magazine depth optimisation
The Zone 2 depth at 4.9 m is driven by the Staff Room table depth plus circulation. Narrowing the Staff Room table is the lever for reducing building width — but the table must remain a real, widely available, affordable Steelcase piece to preserve the furniture-driven methodology. Changing dimensions requires using furniture that can be independently sourced and verified.
A differential rent rate for Habitat versus Magazine has been identified as a future leasing convention: the rates applied to Zone 2 need not match those applied to Zone 1.
Reception line-of-sight requirement
A recurring requirement across all three Medical sketches: Reception must maintain a direct line of sight to the entrance door. The canonical solution is the Reception "window" pattern — an administrative office adjacent to reception with a glazed opening. This is a soft-functional requirement that drives desk placement and the orientation of the doctor's-office wall.
AART vs cappelletti sestito
An earlier Medical-Tile design by AART architects (March 2024) was superseded by the cappelletti sestito sketches for four stated reasons: the earlier layout was not people-centred, used modular rather than need-based sizing, used non-verified furniture SKUs, and provided improper circulation for accessibility. Reception in the earlier design had no natural light.