An experienced architect in Memphis, Tennessee, Tom Marshall has led operations at O.T. Marshall Architects for nearly 35 years. In April of 2020, architect Tom Marshall spoke with Channel 24 Local News about the use of North Memphis’s Gateway Shopping Center as a short-term hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.
Working closely with the Army Corp of Engineers, the state of Tennessee is working to transform this vacant strip mall into a medical temporary facility that meets all the standards of a basic hospital. Some local residents have questioned the wisdom of using the Gateway Shopping Center for this purpose, but Mr. Marshall points out that the architectural qualities of this structure present many distinct advantages.
First and foremost, the massive, single-story building provides an internal space that is both vast and open. This spaciousness not only enables health care workers and patients to adequately buffer themselves against disease, but also provides the room needed to accommodate the pipe-and-drape design infrastructure that engineers must provide to safely operate the facility. And because the facility will have its own self-contained mechanical system, it will pose no threat to the community that surrounds it.
