Founded in 1979, The Mazzoni Center is the only healthcare provider in the Philadelphia region specifically targeting the needs of LGBTQ individuals offering healthcare and support services. But with 17 different sites spread all over the city, they desperately needed to combine all of their services into one central location in order to be successful. That’s where we came in.

The plan was to take an existing two-story commercial office building and turn it into   a new four-story healthcare facility that would enable Mazzoni to effectively serve its clients. In order to do that, we had to remove much of the interior structure and replace it with new steel framing and foundations.

The interior design of the building was heavily influenced by our collaboration with the leadership at the Mazzoni Center. Through our shared dialogue, we honed in on the touchstones of our design: privacy, safety, and comfort. All of the public-facing services were kept on the first floor. To address privacy concerns, we minimized sound transmission between counseling rooms, provided individual gender-neutral restrooms on every floor. We also selected colorful and comfortable furnishings to instill a welcoming environment.

The new Mazzoni Center is now a 50,000-square-foot center that includes a 15,000-square-foot primary care clinic with 22 private treatment rooms, nurses’

stations, and an in-house laboratory. The new center also provides group and private therapy rooms, a food bank, and a full-service Walgreen’s pharmacy catering to specific LGBTQ needs. Upper levels of the building contain executive offices, conference rooms, and an 1,800-square-foot Town Hall available for workshops, public meetings, and political and community events.