Michael Lewis
Special to Ontario Construction News
The interior design of a two-storey medical building in the northern GTA has been honoured as Canada’s best office interior at the 32nd annual International Property Awards ceremony held at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami.
Developed by Shamaim Building Group with lead interior designer Hasti Design Studio, the Uxbridge Medical Centre won the 5-Star Best Office Interior Ontario and 5-Star Best Office Interior Canada awards, the highest distinctions in Canada’s office interior category at the November event.
The interior design of a two-storey medical building in the northern GTA has been honoured as Canada's best office interior at the 32nd annual International Property Awards ceremony held at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami.
Developed by Shamaim Building Group with lead interior designer Hasti Design Studio, the Uxbridge Medical Centre won the 5-Star Best Office Interior Ontario and 5-Star Best Office Interior Canada awards, the highest distinctions in Canada’s office interior category at the November event.
The panel of eight judges was impressed by the design’s integration of the practical with the aesthetic, said Sean Bahmani, director at Shamaim, a Toronto-based contractor specializing in complex commercial construction projects including for medical and dental facilities.
The International Property Awards program said projects were assessed on their design, creativity, practicality, sustainability, and the experience they provide to users.
“The Uxbridge Medical Centre exemplifies a patient-centered design, hospitality-inspired interiors, efficient clinical workflows and AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)- compliant accessibility,” Bahmani said.
“The challenge was to deliver a dental and medical centre that feels professional yet welcoming,
intuitive to navigate, and accessible for all users. The result is a clinic that works efficiently, feels right, and was delivered without the usual construction disruption.” “Our vision was to create a space that feels welcoming for patients while maximizing functionality for clinicians,” added Hasti founder and principal designer Hasti Mir-Hadi. The Toronto-Dubai-based practice includes healthcare environments, spas, cafes, and retail spaces.
Shamaim managed development and construction of the project on a corner lot in downtown Uxbridge including structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, while coordinating the interior to meet code requirements.
“Our focus on healthcare, medical, and dental projects allows us to deliver spaces that meet the unique needs of clinicians and patients,” Bahmani said. “Our integrated design-build approach eliminates the traditional silo problem.
“By working as a fully integrated team, we were able to ensure that design intent, construction coordination, and operational efficiency were achieved in a single, cohesive process, demonstrating the full value of the design-build approach.”
He said firm’s work reflects a belief that successful construction is not merely the execution of drawings, but the orchestration of people, systems, and technology into a built environment that functions reliably.
High load amperage, air filtration systems, infection-control and technical equipment integration specific to healthcare shaped the project’s construction process as much as layout and material decisions, Bahmani added.
Bahmani told OCN that input from dentists and physicians guided the development that saw the original 1960s structure removed above grade, while the existing foundations were retained, structurally reinforced, and selectively extended.
A new superstructure, envelope, and complete interior build-out were then constructed above, with additional pad footings and independent structural systems added where required.
This adaptive-reuse structural strategy delivered the performance of a new building while reducing construction time, embodied carbon, and development charges, and allowing full compliance with current Ontario Building Code, accessibility, fire, and healthcare standards, Bahmani said.
“It is best described as a new medical facility built over a strengthened existing build, rather than a traditional renovation.”
Completed last spring, the roughly 4,000 sq. ft. building includes upscale architectural details, premium exterior lighting, dental clinic facilities upstairs and adaptable office spaces on the ground floor designed to suit general practitioners and other professionals.
Along with plumbing, electrical and HVAC able to accommodate medical equipment, exam room sinks, and higher power demands, the centre also includes more parking spaces than a standard office building.
Beyond functional features, the $2.5 million development aims to offer the warm and inviting environment expected by today’s patient. “We’re seeing a change of taste in healthcare,”
Bahmami said. “Medical centres now are not just places for treatment but beautiful places where people want to be.”
He said a key hurdle in the project was achieving medical building approvals, which he said can double the amount of time it takes to get shovels in the ground compared to conventional office projects.
“The most important challenge is the timeline and the bureaucracy,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s bad. We have standards. “It’s just that you have to allow for the time and start the approvals process really early.”
