EW Howell Construction completes 13,800 s/f Phillips Family Cancer Center on the East End; Two-level treatment center designed by Makoid

Southampton, NY The Southampton Hospital Foundation, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook Medicine celebrated the opening of The Phillips Family Cancer Center. The center is changing cancer care on the East End of Long Island by delivering advanced, comprehensive cancer treatments in a two-level, building located on County Rd. 39A. It is one of the first comprehensive cancer centers on the East End, and a fully integrated site of Stony Brook University Cancer Center.

The 13,800 s/f building, designed by local Hampton architect, Blaze Makoid, takes inspiration from the property’s legacy as the site of a farmer’s potato barn. The roof is long, rectangular and pitched. The top floor of the building’s exterior is sided with composite wood planks reminiscent of aged cedar, while the exterior of the lower level along the entry front is exposed board form concrete. Victor Famulari, a specialist in healthcare facilities, designed the interior. 

Bob Timperio, vice president of EW Howell Construction Group’s healthcare division, said, “One of the challenges during construction was the installation of a Varian TrueBeam Linear Accelerator,” which provides more precise targeting of cancer cells during radiation therapy, sparing healthy surrounding tissue. The street level was determined as the ideal location for the radiation treatment area. Behind the 22,000-pound leaded cantilevered concrete door is the vault housing the Linear Accelerator inside prefabricated leaded concrete walls, whose width varies from 4-5 ft. based upon the shielding plan design. The vault extends back into the hill behind the building.

Medical oncology is accessible on the second level with its entrance directly off the upper parking lot. The infusion area is bright and cheerful and the cathedral ceiling features skylights above 12 individual stations with glass dividers depicting soothing images of waving dune grasses. The two shared treatment spaces enjoy a floor-to-ceiling view of trees. The west-side chemotherapy stations overlook the organic year-round garden planted on the hill above the linear accelerator.  

At the opposite end of the second level, is a multi-purpose area that functions as light-filled conference room. It can quickly convert into a screening room for live skype medical conferencing with Stony Brook University’s Cancer Center. Additionally, the sectional table and chairs collapse and roll into a closet creating space for fitness classes and other wellness workshops.