Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre
The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) and the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) expanded their programming at 29 Bayswater Avenue. The facility offers clients a whole-person approach to cancer care, the first of its kind in Eastern Canada. Among their services, the OICC offers educational programs, naturopathic treatments, and physiotherapy. While they incorporate holistic medicine approaches, the OICC also practices traditional medicine - the two streams are intended to work together, complementing one another in order to provide patients with the best treatment plan possible.
Designing a patient-centered space
The goal of the team was to design a healthy, sustainable environment to encourage a patient-centered, collaborative, and truly integrative level of care that is not possible in clinical settings. Programming required in the additional 3000 sq. ft space included a full demonstration kitchen and lounge, two washrooms, six treatments rooms, a hydrotherapy room, a physiotherapy suite, three offices and the main reception area.
One of the main challenges of the project was fitting the extensive amount of programming required into a compact space. Care was taken to ensure that the ceiling heights were raised wherever possible and that interior glazing was placed strategically to take advantage of the natural light offered in the north side of the building.
Sustainable features
A high-efficiency boiler was installed to both serve a radiant in-floor heating system and provide domestic hot water to the space. High-efficiency LED and fluorescent lighting was specified and low-flow fixtures were selected to minimize water consumption. High recycled-content products such as ceramic tile (40%), counter tops (75%), and gypsum board were used wherever possible. Rapidly renewable bamboo flooring was installed throughout the facility to enhance the feeling of warmth and comfort. Following the guidelines determined by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and Green Seal, the highest standards were adhered to for all building materials used in the project. Non-toxic, no-VOC 'Mythic' paint was used throughout the facility.
