NUVISION medicenters

NuVision's Architect Explains Design Concept

2009-03-19T13:15:00.001-04:00

From Seinfeld to ophthalmology: Interview with Andres Ulises Cortes, Partner, Agencie Architects

by Richard L. Peck, Editor

He was a young architect just starting out in a post-9/11 New York City-not the most propitious of beginnings. But his first project as a member of a large team was a $44 million renovation for comedian Jerry Seinfeld's Long Island estate. He followed that with projects for noted architecture critic Paul Goldberger, cosmetics queen Estée Lauder, architect Kevin Roche, film actress Rachel Weisz, and Condé Nast travel photographer Brigitte Lacombe. Then he surfaced in mid-2008 with a design/build office project for the NuVision ophthalmologic group and finds that healthcare design is drawing him more and more into its realm. Recently, Andrés Ulises Cortés, partner with structural engineer Sarrah Khan in the Manhattan-based design/build firm Agencie Architects, discussed his career progression in an interview with HEALTHCARE DESIGN Editor Richard L. Peck.

Richard L. Peck: Would you elaborate a little on the career path that brought you to the NuVision project?

Andrés Ulises Cortés: I was raised by a family of builders-my father in Bogotá, Colombia, and my mother in Miami, Florida, and I've done everything starting from working as a laborer to installing finish millwork. When I finished architecture studies at Columbia University, it was post-9/11, when the market was terrible. Fortunately I managed to find a job working with a team on Jerry Seinfeld's estate in the Hamptons on Long Island. It was a 12,000-square-foot, two-story residence, with drawings detailed down to the doorknobs. I found myself spending a lot of time on the phone coordinating with subs during construction and decided, from that experience, to get into construction management on my own. One of my first projects was a conversion of a former water-distillation warehouse in Manhattan into luxury apartments. My combined experiences in design and construction allowed me to get smaller “boutique” design/build projects, including one for architectural critic Paul Goldberger's office at the Parsons School of Design. In 2005, I founded Agencie Architects with Sarrah Khan, an architect and structural engineer who has been chief structural designer on various high-profile cultural projects for architects Herzog & de Meuron, Moshe Safdie, Hoberman Associates, and others. Agencie has since completed a number of projects, among them a duplex for Condé Nast chief travel photographer Brigitte Lacombe, and a renovation of an 1890s tenement house for actress Rachel Weisz and her husband, director Darren Aronofsky.

Peck: Goldberger, Roche-you've had some pretty architecturally challenging clients there!

Cortés: Well, I'm always a little “paranoid” when I first meet clients, but they were great people to work with.

Peck: So how did NuVision get into the picture?

Cortés: My partner and I are drawn to the highly technical demands of healthcare work-the special requirements for HVAC, lighting, thermal controls, finishes, ancillary support spaces, and the demanding programmatic requirements. Also we're drawn to the healthcare client's emphasis on evidence-based design to support design decisions.

Peck: How did the NuVision project exemplify this?

Cortés: Executive Director Matt Pruitt had a progressive idea of what this space should be. He had specific ideas about making doctor-patient flows more efficient and making the environment interesting for patients; more of a spa environment to help differentiate them from the overall market. We did a lot of work on acoustics and on visual elements that would make the space look brighter and bigger-using airplane hangar paint on the floors to improve the quality of light in the space, using engaging lighting fixtures, and opening up the space with interior windows exhibiting the diagnostic and treatment areas, showing patients the high-tech equipment that was available to them (although curtains are drawn, of course, when these are in use). We also worked hard to make the space handicapped-accessible, going beyond ADA requirements, with large turning radiuses for easy wheelchair access to exam rooms and surgical suites, especially with a quadriplegic market in mind. In general, we had to do a lot with your conventionally tight New York space.

Peck: Has this inspired you to take on more healthcare projects?

Cortés: Another physician office is a prospective project. We've already worked on four physician residences and I have to say it's very interesting working with physician clients. They tend to be more sophisticated than most clients, maybe because they've gone to school for a long time and are used to communicating with wide varieties of people. They read drawings well, are decision-

oriented, and are very efficient; things tend to move along at a smart clip-at least that's our experience. So we're very drawn to the client demographic and we're just beginning to explore healthcare.

Peck: One last question: How did you get the NuVision clinic done at $50 per square foot?

Cortés: There are a few factors. To begin with, instead of taking the aggregate of bids, consolidating them, and putting our overhead on top, we detach our construction management fee from the hard costs of construction at the start. This frees us up to have an open-book process where we engage the client in the value engineering of the project; we can chisel down the hard costs as much as possible because we have divorced our own financial interests from this process. We also have worked with a number of the same vendors and subcontractors on projects over the years and have established a level of trust where people feel free to explore unusual materials and unconventional ways of doing things. All of this helps us keep square-foot costs down-a long way from the Seinfeld project which, as I recall, came in at over $1,000 per square foot! HD

For further information on Agencie Architects, phone 917.463.9504 or visit http://www.agenciearchitects.com.

Healthcare Design 2009 March;9(3):30-31

LASIK for Penn State coach

2009-01-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you've heard it all, this happens. I've heard of fraternity pranks involving the kidnapping of a "Bob'sBig Boy", but poor JoePa's eye glasses! His eyes are too old for LASIK. Or are they? Maybe the pranksters wanted to help JoePa, who spent the better part of last season coaching from the ski box after a terrible sideline injury. It must be hard to see the action from that far away. But let's not blame it on Michigan fans. After all, why would Michagan fans spring for Joe's LASIK vision. We want beat Penn State next year.

NUVISION for the new year

2009-01-03T10:14:00.003-05:00

Many of us start the New Year with resolutions we can never keep. Well, this year resolving to have perfect vision can be the easiest resolution to fulfill. It only requires a little courage and a telephone call to NuVision Medicenters, who have specialized in LASIK for over a decade. At your personal consultation, Dr. Jackson will develop a customized LASIK treatment to match the unique characteristics of your eyes. It all starts with a series of diagnostic measurements designed to measure the unique microscopic intricacies of each of your eyes. After determining the appropriate treatment, a ten minute in office procedure is all it takes to achieve the crystal clear vision you have always wanted.
Some who have been told LASIK is not a safe option may be surprised to find out that today's advancements make most of us a candidate for LASIK in 2009. In fact, more than half of those determined noncandidates forLASIK in the passed are safe candidates today. So, whether you've just held off because you didn't find the time to make an appointment, or because you were told it couldn't be done, call and find out what todays advances can do for you. Happy New Year!

Vision Terminology: PRESBYOPIA and ASTIGMATISM

2008-07-14T22:19:00.012-04:00

LASIK is surgery. Surgery can be daunting, if you don't have enough information. On this blog, we're going to start breaking down the many terms related to refractive surgery to help prospective patients better understand what this is all about.

We will continue our series on medical terminology, moving on to Presbyopia and Astigmatism.

PRESBYOPIA

Presbyopia is the condition where the eye loses diminished accommodation - the ability to change focus from far to near. It is primarily a condition that comes about as people age - the lens loses the ability to flex or the muscles that change the shape of the lens lose strength, or both. The ability to change focus from far away, to focus on near objects is referred to as the accommodation. Accommodation is also measured in diopters - a measure of the effective focal length of the optical system. (We talked about diopters in a previous post.)

When we are young, we have a roughly 20 diopter accommodation, dropping to 10 diopter around age 20, then leveling off to roughly 1 diopter by age 60. This reduced accommodation makes it more difficult to focus on objects very close - resulting in hyperopia.

People can be born with hyperopia, which can be corrected with lenses or surgery. However, hyperopia from reduced accommodation is part of the aging process.

More links about presbyopia:
American Optometric Association (AOA)
All About Vision

ASTIGMATISM

Astigmatism is a more complex vision defect. Both myopia and hyperopia (whether or not it is a result of presbyopia) describe where the focus of the eye falls relative to the retina. For these defects, however, the optical system is still symmetric, meaning that eye focuses light at the same point no matter what direction the light is coming from. Astigmatism describes the condition that light oriented in different directions is focused differently because the lens or cornea (or both) are shaped symmetrically. Think of the lens as being spoon-shaped instead of a perfectly round dish.

For example, the eye might focus light oriented vertically in front of the retina, while focus horizontally oriented light behind the retina. This would cause 2 images to be blurry, as neither are falling in focus on the retina. (see figure, below) Looking at stars or bright lights at night might look like subtle crosses, which show the vertical and horizontal blurs.

More links about astigmatism:
American Optometric Association (AOA)
All About Vision

Ok - We should take a break here. In future posts, we'll talk about the different procedures that can correct these vision problems.

(thank to Wikipedia for information and graphics)

New Facility Underway

2008-06-20T19:10:00.004-04:00

The new NUVISION headquarters in midtown Manhattan is nearly done. We are in the midst of preparing a state-of-the-art space to better serve all our customers. We've enlisted the finest designers and engineers to hlep make the space inviting and comforting for all our patients - past, present and future!

Watch this space for updates and photos as we progress.

Interior design by: Agencie Architects of Brooklyn and Miami
Infrastructure and Engineering by: ATOMIC Consultants LLC of Brooklyn

Vision Terminology: MYOPIA & HYPEROPIA

2008-06-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

LASIK is surgery. Surgery can be daunting, if you don't have enough information. On this blog, we're going to start breaking down the many terms related to refractive surgery to help prospective patients better understand what this is all about.

We'll start with a few posts about some basic terms that relate to your vision:
Myopia, Hyperopia, Presbyopia, Astigmatism

MYOPIA

Myopia is commonly known as being 'near-sighted': one sees objects close-up very clear, but objects far-away are blurry. The degree that one is near-sighted is measured in units called diopter. Myopia is represented by positive diopters. More or less perfect vision (with regard to focus) would be 0 diopter. Mild myopia might be +1 or +2 diopter. This would then require the opposite correction - reading glasses, say, of -1 or -2 diopter.

More links about myopia:

American Optometric Association (AOA)
All About Vision

HYPEROPIA

Hyperopia or Hypermetropia is commonly known as being 'far-sighted': one sees objects far-away very clear, but objects close-up blurry. Hyperopia is measured in negative diopters - the opposite of myopia, so your vision might be measured as -2 diopter, requiring a +2 diopter correction.

Both Myopia and Hyperopia are problems with the eye focusing light. Myopia focuses the light in front of the retina, hypeopia behind. Both can be the results of many factors. They are in essence defects of the cornea + lens optical system.

More links about hyperopia:

American Optometric Association (AOA)
All About Vision

Ok - We should take a break here. Next post, we'll talk about more complicated vision defects.

Introductions!

2008-05-17T14:33:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the NUVISION blog - the companion to our website and quarterly newsletter.

This blog is a great place to find the latest information on LASIK and other eye surgeries. It is designed to provide information to past, present, and future NUVISION customers, and serve the LASIK community as a whole.

NUVISION medicenters is a leading eye surgery clinic based in New York City; serving New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. We serve the entire metropolitan area with locations in midtown Manhattan, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.

Consultations are always free, and include a complete vision test. Even if you are unsure whether you are eligible, it is worth the time to come in and meet Matthew and Jessica, discuss your vision needs and have a comprehensive vision test. Always friendly, always free.

Our main website: http://www.nuvisionmedicenters.com

Our toll-free number: 1 (866) 585 - 2015