A health care facility doesn’t necessarily have to look like one.

That was the approach taken by the Clark/Kjos Architects team that designed a new Health and Wellness Clinic for nonprofit Outside In near the border between Portland and Gresham. Colorful artwork was chosen to highlight the exterior of the structure that Walsh Construction is building on a quarter-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Southeast 162nd Avenue and Burnside Street, in the Rosewood neighborhood.

The single-story building was designed to embrace visitors as much as possible.

“I think the main goal is to make it noninstitutional and make it appeal to the Outside In clientele,” said Scot Jahn, a project architect with Clark/Kjos Architects. “We really wanted it to have some ties to the existing (Outside In) building downtown, so the color of the stucco is going to match the red on the steel there and the art screen is being done by the same artist. We wanted to do it in a different way, but have the same elements on the building.”

Building design is very important for interaction with Outside In clients, said Tess Anawalt, a major gift officer with the nonprofit.

“That was one of the things we worked really closely with (architects) on,” she said. “Outside In has 50 years of experience providing services to folks who traditionally don’t feel as welcome or who have experienced trauma, so for us it’s really important to create this welcoming space that really doesn’t feel like every other clinic.”

Color plays a significant role in achieving that goal, Anawalt said.

“Then there’s the art and having the space really covered in art and those artistic screens, so it really feels like a part of this community,” she said.

It’s a sizable step away from an institutional look and feel, Anawalt added.

“There are a lot more smaller corridors and hallways, so it feels different for folks entering these spaces,” she said. “And a lot of it is the dressing afterward. Just having a fish tank in the lobby increases the success rate for clients coming in, so there are little things like that.”

Construction is ongoing. Wood framing wrapped up last month, and then crews began working on the dry-in of the flat roof.

“A little bit of the site work for the fire supply is getting backfilled right now,” Walsh Construction superintendent Duane Sterns said last month, “and we’re trying to dry in the exterior of the building with the weather-resistant barrier system.”

By the end of March, the framing support system for the building’s prefabricated exterior wall panels will arrive for installation. Manufactured by Portland firm Acculign Framing, the wall panels will include stone cladding sourced from Spain.

“It should take roughly five days to install the frame system and another five days to install the panels,” Sterns said.

This will be the first time that Sterns’ crew handles an Acculign system.

“There’s a learning curve there, but the engineering on it is pretty drastic for this type of system,” he said. “If it was a multistory with concrete walls, it would go on a lot quicker. But with this being wood-framed, we had to add some stuff in there that we didn’t anticipate.”

Crews completed a mock-up and visited the Acculign factory for installation training. Initial installation and waterproofing around the building parapet are expected to be challenging.

“It’s pretty user-friendly right now,” Sterns said. “We’ll see a lot of cladding going up on the building and we’ll start to get it closed in.”

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A colorful entryway has been designed to lead people into a new health care facility now being constructed in Gresham’s Rosewood neighborhood.

Designed by Clark/Kjos Architects, the Outside In East clinic will occupy space on the southwest corner of Southeast 162nd Avenue and East Burnside Street. Walsh Construction is serving as general contractor for the project; ground was broken formally last week.

Like several other Outside In facilities in the Portland area, the new one will have a large, bold mural adorning the entrance. It’s one way to create an environment as inviting as possible for clientele who often can be wary of health care providers and others in positions of authority.

Outside In was formed in 1968 specifically to serve “alienated youth,” according to its website. It was one of the first free community health clinics in the U.S. The organization now serves approximately 5,700 people annually. At the new facility, staffers will offer comprehensive primary health care, behavioral health care, recovery services, and case management services – plus temporary transitional housing and services for youths experiencing homelessness.

“We could see there was a need, no one else was filling it, and, with some of a star team, found this piece of property and, oh boy, is it perfect,” Outside In board member Nancy Cox said last week during the ground-breaking ceremony.

The 0.24-acre parcel was purchased in 2016 to house the clinic. The property is near a MAX light-rail station in an impoverished, culturally diverse area.

“We’re committed to social justice, access to health care for all and to building communities one human encounter at a time,” Outside In Executive Director Patricia Patron said. “Our long-term vision is for Outside In to be a center of excellence in integrated care for individuals and communities who are marginalized.”

The 6,200-square-foot building will have a single story of wood framing over a slab-on-grade foundation. The façade will feature a durable, manufactured stone panel system. Metal panels and glass will be used for the lobby and entrance. Stucco will be used on the south and west sides, while a perforated metal screen will hold the mural.

Excavation work is under way on the site. Project completion is expected in late 2020.

According to Walsh Construction, selected firms will be invited to submit proposals for scopes of work that will include general excavation and site work, structural concrete, structural and miscellaneous steel, rough carpentry and wood framing, masonry, exterior weather barrier and siding, doors and hardware, windows and glazing, interior finishes, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and site furnishings.

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