Kahler Slater Earns Three ASID Awards

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Kahler Slater, based in Milwaukee, recently received three 2012 American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Wisconsin Design Excellence Awards for the architecture firm’s recent designs of hospital and clinic construction projects.

The Wisconsin chapter of the ASID presented the awards, which recognize outstanding interior design in categories such as corporate or office space, health care retail and hospitality.

The firm received the Gold Award for its design of the LEED-certified UW Health Yahara Clinic in Monona, Wis. The sustainable design included the use of wood throughout the facility, creating a warmer environment than most medical clinics. The front desk and a cabinet in the lobby were made entirely from walnut trees. The daylighting elements also added to the overall interior design, especially with views of Wisconsin wildlife, such as deer, turkey, cranes and possums, in the distance.

Earning Silver Awards were the firm’s designs of the LEED-built Meriter DeForest-Windsor Clinic in Deforest, Wis., and the LEED-certified Monroe Clinic in Monroe, Wis. The Meriter health clinic was designed for maximum flexibility to accommodate busy times for the clinic and it also has views of the area’s native meadowlands. Technology, such as an electronic medical record system, interactive website and automated kiosks upon arrival, also help maximize efficiency at the clinic. The Monroe Clinic’s four-story expansion was designed using evidence-based design. Healing gardens, a rooftop meditation area and an outdoor dining terrace all work towards helping the patient, as well as adding a sustainability factor.

A jury of ASID members from outside of Wisconsin chose the award winners. Projects were evaluated for the appropriateness of the design solution; functional use of space; innovative and creative use of space, scale and proportion; color composition; design elements; and commitment to sustainability.

In late 2012, Kahler Slater also won the nationwide 2012 Patient Empowered Room Design competition, presented by the Atlanta-headquartered Institute for Patient-Centered Design Inc.