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Custom Millwork Makes the
Difference at Dartmouth Medical School By Rigel
Cable
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The cabinets are expertly trimmed, and
the soft tones of wood complement the
bright and cheery yellow walls. |
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If someone says “laboratory,” what kind of picture
comes to
your mind? For many outside the fields of research,
it’s an uninspiring monochrome, sterile environment,
designed for practicality over comfort. Dartmouth
Medical School has taken an entirely different
approach to labs in the latest remodeling of its
Vail building.
The result is anything but dismal. For a newcomer
the space is surprisingly relaxed, smooth, and
brightly colored. Drawers have beautifully finished
edging, cabinets are expertly trimmed, and the soft
tones of wood complement bright and cheery yellow
walls.
The Vail-Remsen complex comprises two buildings at
the core of the Dartmouth Medical School campus to
the north of Dartmouth College. For decades the
Medical School had been adjacent to a leading
regional hospital, but when the new Dartmouth
Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) was built in
Lebanon, and the old Mary Hitchcock Memorial
Hospital was demolished, it necessitated a shift on
the Hanover campus. After considering whether to
move all or part of its operations to the new
facility, Dartmouth Medical School decided to
operate on two campuses. First- and second-year
students attend classes on the Hanover campus, while
third- and fourth-year students study on the Lebanon
campus at DHMC. Research is conducted
at both locations, and researchers tend to base
themselves in the location that best works for their
affiliations with Dartmouth College or DHMC.
While the state-of-the-art appearance of DHMC and
its connected facilities is immediately apparent to
any visitor, the Dartmouth Medical School campus has
appeared to lag behind.
The exterior of the Medical School buildings still
looks much the same, but “Lab renovations have been
ongoing since Remsen and Vail were built,” says Dave
Harris, Director of Facilities for the Medical
School. “As technology changes and as new
researchers and new programs come to the Medical
School, we renovate individual spaces to accommodate
the need.”
For the Vail project Dartmouth Medical School worked
on the design with Fleck & Lewis Architects of
Hanover, who have completed many projects for
Dartmouth College, including nearby Sudikoff Hall.
Over the last two years, the Medical School has been
systematically remodeling Vail one floor at a time.
These labs are undergoing a complete overhaul that
includes taking everything down to the inner walls
and rebuilding it all, from casework to gas lines.
Trumbull-Nelson, which had been involved with the
remodeling of the fifth floor last year, won the bid
for this year’s renovation project of floors one and
two. Trumbull-Nelson enjoyed the challenge of
completing the complex and specific casework designs
developed by the Medical School team, which finishes
with T-edge banding that Trumbull-Nelson completed
by hand.
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Each lab, although following a general
outline, has been tailored to the
requests of each resident researcher. |
“We finish
our labs with wood instead of metal. It looks nicer
and makes for a more pleasant place to do research,”
Harris remarks. Labs across the country have high
standards for casework and the casework for the Vail
building had 30 or 40 nuances, according to Harris.
Trumbull-Nelson was ideally suited for this project
as it hosts its own in-house Millwork Shop, allowing
them to execute all of the complex woodwork
themselves to the exacting specifications of the
Dartmouth Medical School researchers.
“Having our own Millwork Shop is unique for a
contractor as it gives us more control over our
projects,” says Tony Instasi, Trumbull-Nelson
Project Manager for Vail. After eight months of long
shifts in the Millwork Shop, the casework was
finally completed. “We all work as a team here. It’s
the only way to get a job done,” explains Instasi.
The new labs are vastly improved and, in addition to
meeting current codes and guidelines, create a much
more pleasant environment. Each lab, although
following a general outline, has been tailored to
the requests of each resident researcher. The
finished casework is beautifully done in birch and
the walls are lively in color. As workers put the
final touches on the labs, offices, social alcoves,
and conference rooms, they are able to admire a job
well done.
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