Masonry Magazine June 1988 Page. 13
Entry from the front parking lot takes one under the cantilevered overhangs of the entry pylons into the porte cochere with its exposed space frame which is split its entire length by a continuous barrel vault skylight.
Wentzville, Mo.
Community Hospital
Wentzville, Missouri is a rapidly expanding suburban community in the St. Louis metropolitan area whose needs, like many suburban communities, are growing. The community saw an immediate need for a 100-bed hospital, with options for expansion. The developer, HEI Corporation, St. Louis, saw this opportunity and in their design requirements stated that the structure should be distinctively attractive while maintaining the benefits of durability, low cost, energy conservation and low maintenance. Henmi Jen Enderling, Inc. was selected as the architects on the project with the general contractor being H.B.D. Contracting, Inc. and masonry by John Smith Masonry Co.
The 9.5 million dollar project encompasses 86,000 square feet and has a number of unique innovations. On the front of the building, the basic wall material was changed from the utility size brick, used on the remainder of the building, to a ground-face 8" by 16" CMU with a center score to create an apparent 8" x 8" gridded surface. A special mixture of aggregates was specified for the CMU in order to achieve a delicate color mixture appropriate to an entrance. The multi-colored brick banding, used throughout the structure, was continued through this screen wall even though the main field material was changed, thus maintaining a sense of continuity without sacrificing diversity in architectural expression.
A view from the front garden area showing the curved surfaces of the entry pylons.
MASONRY-MAY/JUNE, 1988 13