A former painter is using technology and an inquisitive culture to determine the ?poetry of architecture? For cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, the outdoors can seem distant amid medical machines dispensing treatment. At the Kraemer Radiation Oncology Center in Anaheim, California, designed by Yazdani Studio, the layout seeks to improve a stressful situation with a connection to nature.
As explained by design director Mehrdad Yazdani, the Kraemer design used technology in a way that sought to, in essence, push technology aside. Generally, oncology centers need thick concrete walls to prevent radiation leakage.
Yazdani and his colleagues devised a curving, naturalistic shape for the building, incorporating Zen gardens into the layout so all the patients, even those in the midst of heavy radiation treatments, could connect with nature. It was driven by a desire to fold in nature and light, and to create spaces that were both communal and contemplative.
Mehrdad Yazdani

For Yazdani, the Kraemer project for the Kaiser Permanente healthcare group demonstrated the strengths of his namesake practice. A smaller, LA-based firm-within-a-firm at Cannon Design that has the ability to draw upon the specialized knowledge and resources of a larger company, the practice is expected to grow to a staff of 30 by the end of the year. And by pairing computer-aided design with a culture that encourages its designers to question precedent, the firm can focus o...