Medical Offices

The firm designed about 15 medical buildings for single or small group practices and all of them are quiet, modest buildings. Many are in the Pasadena environs and adjacent to residential neighborhoods. Smith and Williams designed their medical offices as though they were private homes. They include gardens and courtyards, provide privacy for patient and doctor, and create soothing domestic-scale spaces where waiting is made as pleasant as possible.

The medical offices for Dr. Paul Blaisdell and another physician, who both worked half-days at a hospital and half at their office, was one of the earliest designs for doctor's offices by Whitney Smith. The office environment attempted to be as 'residential' as possible, while still retaining a professional office appearance. Smith created an enclosed terrace adjacent to the waiting room, with the same floors, lattice work, and similar furnishings in order for the space to feel larger and open to the outside.

The exterior of the Royce Children's Clinic is modest and reserved, possibly due to it's adjacency to a residential neighborhood. The inside, however, is full of visual excitement-- wooden screens, colored glass, and separate reception and waiting areas bring movement and definition to a small space. 

This medical building for a group of four psychiatrists is an unusual shape, shown in the plan. Two adjacent circles are connected by a diamond-shaped vestibule and reception area. The circles are divided into quarters, with each doctor taking up one quarter, while the remaining quarters are examination rooms.