Simulation facility design - Biomedical Engineering Desk Reference - page 424

TRAINING 1
880 SF 7 BEDS

TRAINING 2
1,141 SF 8 BEDS

OFFICE
75 SF

CONF RM 1
2 55 SF

CORRIDOR 1

CONF RM 2
170 SF

E N TRY

INTERNAL CORE
116 SF

CORE RM 1
192 SF

SIM RM 2
195 SF

SIM RM 1
302 SF

CORRIDOR 2

C ORE RM 2
154 SF

CONTROL RM 1
172 SF

CONTROL RM 2
136 SF

0 5 10 20

Figure 4.5-1 Floor plan for a 5000-square-foot simulation center. The apartment concept (also known as a suite) is composed of four
distinct functional subsections: simulation, control, core, and conference. There are two such apartments shown, numbered 1 and 2,
located in each lower quadrant. Look at # 1. Notice how the conference room is in the far corner, away from noise sources, like
conversations in the control room. Trace the typical footpath of the students and their instructors. Locate # 2. Notice how the two control
rooms are just a quiet shout away from each other. Note: Permission to use Figure 4.5-1 has been granted by Dahanukar Brandes
Architects, Samuel Merritt College, and SimHealth Consultants LLC. The schematic was developed by Dahanukar Brandes Architects and
SimHealth Consultants LLC (facility design consultants) for Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California. All rights and copyright remain
the property of Dahanukar Brandes Architects and SimHealth Consultants LLC.

of the whole environment achieve that? Some centers have
made good attempts at creating hybrid versions of virtual
hospitals and educational environments. These centers are
worth looking at, not to replicate, but to be able to learn in
which direction should the hybridization favor.
Should space be designed so specifically that its utility
becomes limited to a specific activity or discipline alone? If
a space is created to closely resemble an operating room
(OR), then it may become difficult to use that space for
anything else. Utilization of the space is therefore limited
to the demand created by select specialties. The room lacks
flexibility to be appealing to other disciplines and special-
ties. The common response to such a comment is ''we can
just put partitions up to hide the elements that label the
room.'' The counter response to this is ''why create the
detail in the first place if you will ultimately want to hide
it?'' It is important to recognize that the amount of detail
relates to the role it plays in the suspension of disbelief.

This chapter is intended to reveal issues rather than
explain what your simulation center should look like.
However, one floor plan that does meet most of one
program's needs is offered as an example ( Figure 4.5-1 ).
The design of each center is unique but certain guiding
principles around function, structure, and need are
common in most instances. The topics that will be covered
include:

The center design team Gases

Function, flow, and utilization Lighting

Simulation type Electrical

Sound Ventilation

A flow chart provides a graphical representation of the
iterative process, that is, creation of a simulation program
and its supporting facilities ( Figure 4.5-2 ).