Even as healthcare systems around the country have struggled financially during the coronavirus pandemic, big-ticket projects are getting built to meet expanding patient needs, especially in growing markets.
On January 11, Nuvance Health opened its $545 million, eight-level Patient Pavilion addition to Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. This is the largest single construction project in this city’s history.
“It’s important to remember this project represents the most significant transformation of Vassar Brothers since its inception in 1887,” said Tim Massie, Nuvance Health’s senior vice president of marketing, public affairs, and government relations. “The patient pavilion will be a landmark and asset for the community, a gateway to the city of Poughkeepsie and a site known for the excellent patient care and services provided by its staff.”
DESIGN AESTHETIC INTEGRATES THE HUDSON RIVER
The pavilion's curved shape is meant to suggest the nearby Hudson River.
Designed by CallisonRTKL and built by a joint venture between Walsh Construction and Consigli Construction, the 752,610-sf pavilion will serve the greater Hudson Valley with 264 private patient rooms on the top four floors, a 72,000-sf 30-room Intensive Care Unit, 13 surgical suites, and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen emergency and trauma center (which opened two days before the rest of the pavilion) with 66 exam rooms and ample parking for ambulances and the public.
The pavilion also features the O’Shea Conference Center that can accommodate up to 300 people, the 220-seat Panichi family Café with outdoor dining, a rooftop helipad, and green roofs to assist in the building’s water management and patient views.
There’s a designated Meditation Room, and ground-floor access to an outdoor public terrace and a two-level atrium that overlook the Hudson River. (The pavilion’s curved shape is meant to emulate the river.)
Built to achieve LEED certification, the pavilion’s sustainable elements include lower-level roofs that are lined with flora to assimilate the structure with the surrounding environment. High-performance dual-paneled glazing lessens solar gain, and low-reflectivity glass prevents bird collisions. LED Lights, energy recovery, and insulation are expected to reduce the pavilion’s energy consumption by 20%. And the building includes fixtures and controls installed to save an estimated 20,000 gallons of water per day.
An underground garage provides a charging station for hybrid and electric vehicles.
FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING
Vassar Brothers Medical Center first announced this project in September 2016, and the pavilion took four years to complete, during which the Walsh/Consigli team removed 100,000 cubic feet of rock along with 100 blasts to prepare the pavilion’s foundation and reroute utilities. The team installed an estimated 3.45-million-linear-ft of cabling, 1.4-million pounds of ductwork, 200,000 sf of metal panel facade, 775,500 linear ft of conduit, 13,000 light fixtures, 4,400 tons of steel, 30,000 cubic yards of concrete, and 103,000 sf of glass.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
MOB added to new hospital project
A late-2009 ground breaking is planned for a $20 million medical office building on the grounds of the $211 million, 106-bed Loma Linda University Medical Center in Murrieta, Calif., which itself is under construction. Minneapolis-based Frauenshuh HealthCare Real Estate Solutions is developing the five-story, 160,000-sf MOB, which will accommodate 60 physician offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Rehabilitation center helps patients transition
Construction is under way on the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Center on the VA Medical Center campus in Richmond, Va. The $8 million, 22,000-sf facility will provide physical therapy, housing, and education to veterans as part of their transition back into their communities. The center was designed by HDR, Alexandria, Va.
| Aug 11, 2010
Medical office building planned in Fort Worth, Texas
Dallas-based TGS Architects has unveiled its design for the five-story, 130,000-sf Plaza Medical Office Building, planned for Fort Worth, Texas. The Class A development will include space for orthopedic care, surgery, breast center, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular, and rehabilitation therapy services.
| Aug 11, 2010
Philadelphia cancer center seeks LEED certification
The New York office of Thornton Tomasetti provided structural engineering services for the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine in Philadelphia, a $232 million medical research center and advanced treatment center for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Designed by a joint venture of Perkins Eastman Architects and Rafael Vinõly Architects, the 340,000-sf facility will hous...
| Aug 11, 2010
High-level NICU opens in Washington, D.C.
Design to the highest distinction available by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the new Level IIIC neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C., is equipped to care for the sickest premature babies, including those that require open-heart surgery. The 54-bed facility, designed by Karlsberger with KLMK Group as space planner, is four times large...
| Aug 11, 2010
San Bernardino health center doubles in size
Temecula, Calif.-based EDGE was awarded the contract for California State University San Bernardino's health center renovation and expansion. The two-phase, $4 million project was designed by RSK Associates, San Francisco, and includes an 11,000-sf, tilt-up concrete expansion—which doubles the size of the facility—and site and infrastructure work.
| Aug 11, 2010
New hospital expands Idaho healthcare options
Ascension Group Architects, Arlington, Texas, is designing a $150 million replacement hospital for Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho. An existing facility will be renovated as part of the project. The new six-story, 320-000-sf complex will house 187 beds, along with an intensive care unit, a cardiovascular care unit, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgical suites, rehabilitation clinic, and ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Manhattan's Gouverneur Healthcare Services tops out renovation, expansion
One year after breaking ground, the Building Team for the renovation and expansion of the Gouverneur Healthcare Services facility on Manhattan's Lower East Side topped out the $180 million project. Designed by New York-based RMJM, the development involves a 316,000-sf renovation and 108,000-sf addition that will house a 295-bed nursing facility and five-story ambulatory care center.
| Aug 11, 2010
Decline expected as healthcare slows, but hospital work will remain steady
The once steady 10% growth rate in healthcare construction spending has slowed, but hasn't entirely stopped. Spending is currently 1.7% higher than the same time last year when construction materials costs were 8% higher. The 2.5% monthly jobsite spending decline since last fall is consistent with the decline in materials costs.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction under way on LEED Platinum DOE energy lab
Centennial, Colo.-based Haselden Construction has topped out the $64 million Research Support Facilities, located on the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Golden, Colo. Designed by RNL and Stantec to achieve LEED Platinum certification and net zero energy performance, the 218,000-sf facility will feature natural ventilation through operable ...
