The Diocese of Nashville has recently published the article "Miracle of faith: Dedication of
Visitation Clinic gives hope to people of Haiti".
To view the article please click link: Miracle of faith
"The dedication was also the first visit to the clinic for Alan Dooley, the Nashville architect who donated his services to design it.
"I thought it looked better than I expected," said Dooley, who credited the Haitian engineer and contractor for the project, Abdou Fal, with building a clinic "well above Haitian standards."
Dooley designed the clinic with sustainability in mind.
Because electrical service in Haiti is often unreliable, Dooley explained, the clinic will receive all its power from 38 solar panels attached to the roof. There also is a solar water heater on the roof of the clinic, he said.
Rainwater from the roof will be collected, filtered and pumped to the clinic's water tower.
All the appliances selected for use in the clinic are low energy users and the clinic will use low-flow toilets, all to reduce the use of power and water as much as possible, Dooley said.
To help keep the clinic cool, the central corridor was designed with a tall ceiling lined at the top with clerestory windows, "which was a common way to cool basilicas," Dooley said.
The roof has deep overhangs to shade the walls, Dooley added.
Even the landscaping was designed with sustainability in mind. Frances and Mike Sosadeeter of Sarasota, Fla., who designed the landscaping, used as many native and edible plants as possible, and used native palm trees the help shade the clinic, Dooley said.
Others helped with the design by donating their services, Dooley said, including Nashville electrical engineer Tony Pezzi; Roger Wehby and Larry Medlin of Rock City Mechanical; Gould Turner Group Architects who have experience designing hospitals and medical facilities; Robert Lownes who created a rendering of the clinic; and Charlie Wehby, Jack Goodrum, Chris Remke and Joe Connor, who served in an advisory capacity.
"My work has never been so appreciated," Dooley said of the Haitians’ reaction to the clinic.
