2016 SBOTY Finalist: Simon Oswald Architecture
Architect Jennifer Hedrick does some of her best work with Post-its.
A principal at Simon Oswald Architecture, Hedrick led the year-long design and documentation phase of the South Providence Medical Center for MU Health Care, which opened in January 2015. One of the unique phases of the project involved building mock-ups of the exam rooms so users could give feedback on the design.
“As architects, we see things in 3-D and then have to translate them into 2-D,” Hedrick says. “So mock-ups serve as a significant tool for users and designers.”
Over the course of a week, the team used sticky notes to mark things the health care staff wanted to change, including the height of the electrical outlets and the placement of the paper towel dispensers. “We worked hard to get each area to work and feel how they wanted it to feel,” Hedrick says.
With a desire to offer in-depth customer service, Principal Bill Oswald took over the project once construction was underway. “I visited the site almost every day,” he says. “Site visits are a great way to monitor design intent.”
The 85,550-square-foot medical center was just one of many mid-Missouri buildings the firm has designed since its inception in 1987. The company, now housed in their own energy-efficient office building on Woodard Drive, is committed to a holistic approach, integrating architecture and interior design.
Hedrick considers her staff of 13 to be generalists who primarily design spaces for higher education and health care but also undertake civic and corporate projects. The team focuses on a 60-mile radius around Columbia and currently has 28 active clients.
She says she is proud of the firm’s work and their reputation in the community. “It was an honor to be nominated for this award,” she says, “and it was a rewarding process to think about and write down what our group collectively does for this community.”
Hedrick contributes much of the firm’s success to their homegrown, mid-Missouri staff. “They want to live and work in this area,” she says. “They love to work on projects their friends and family will utilize.”
Learn about the other SBOTY finalists: