Each time I walk through the spider webs in the hall, I am better able to visualize our finished space with natural light and polished floors. I imagine our patients walking in and being greeted by one of us. I imagine bringing them to the exam area and making the time to actually listen to them and working together to reach their health goals. I imagine watching outdoor cooking demonstrations. I walk by our movement space we are creating for yoga, Pilates and dance. I love looking out the windows to surrounding mountains through the desert landscape.
And then, there are the meetings with the architect and the reality of moving block walls in a building constructed in 1948. Creating ADA compliant hallways around huge weight bearing pillars. Finding out our beautiful sliding Shoji wall will mean massive demolition of block walls we had just assumed were drywall.
A commitment to staying as "green" as possible is met by questioning looks by the powers that be. The perfect layout with our long hallways circling the 4,000 square feet, suddenly being modified to accommodate OUTDOOR hallways. Endless weeks of studying the ideal patient flow and exam rooms are overturned by the constraints of current architecture.
A younger me would have pitched a fit over the changes, but I have learned to believe that this will all work out for an even better design than we could have imagined. It will become a wonderful place for the transforming the health of our community. It will be the place our patients will be heard and respected.
It's very exciting that you can give new life to such a historic site with a much needed wellness center. I am sure when the building is renovated, even you will be in awe of what you have accomplished, while still maintaining the spirit of the original Inn.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for you. It is good to remain adaptable through this process. The way the building ends up being laid out isn't as important as the function it will serve when it is finished. When we first put an offer in on our home, I wasn't as sold on the place as Nico was, but after painting a few rooms and dreaming about even more changes I am madly in love with this home. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. In time, I am sure you will love your Integrative Health Center no matter how it ends up looking simply because you have made it yours.
ReplyDeleteIt will be grand to see the old inn brought back to life.
I think I am just as excited about being part of bringing life and health back to the Apple Valley Inn. I fall more in love with the space each time we walk through. There is so much natural light and amazing potential.
ReplyDeleteexcited to see the progress
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