Located on the new cancer care campus of the East Tennessee Healthcare Center, The Provision Center for Proton Therapy is the first proton center in Tennessee. Approximately 87,000 SF in size, the four -gantry facility utilizes a cyclotron-based treatment system manufactured by multiple equipment vendors. Patient care areas include treatment, pre-treatment, imaging and exam spaces and are housed on the first floor, while the second floor provides space for faculty offices, training facilities and support rooms. The Provision Center for Proton Therapy is the first of its kind to offer proton therapy in the state of Tennessee with the capability to treat up to 1,500 patients each year.

Responding to the required program within a constrained building footprint, VOA’s design team carefully planned and designed an innovative solution using advanced technology of shielded sliding doors. This technology allowed for the elimination of the traditional maze by providing direct access to the treatment rooms. The Proton Therapy Center of Knoxville is the first project to successfully implement this approach to shielding.

This project is the lowest cost proton center in the world with a construction cost of $333 SF. This project demonstrates the ability to not only manage project costs, but to reduce costs through design.