Pediatric Burn Unit patients at Torrance Memorial Medical Center recently teamed with workers from McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. to create mini renditions of the new hospital Patient Tower using Legos, and to mark the tower’s final concrete pour.
The event took place in view of the project site where construction of the medical center’s 398,350-sf patient tower is underway.
Among the patients participating was 5-year-old Robert Jones, who has been undergoing treatment for burn injuries at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. A former burn patient, Litzy Santos, 6, and her sister Karime also participated in the mini building project.
McCarthy workers joined the patients, donning construction gear and hard hats, to help with their building efforts. The workers invited the patients to give the command via two-way radio to complete the final concrete pour on the seventh-story deck—the top level of the new Patient Tower. McCarthy donated several sets of Legos to the Pediatric Unit to help keep young patients entertained during their hospitalization.
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is serving as general contractor for the $450 million Patient Tower project which is more than half-way finished. At its peak, there will be approximately 500 construction workers on site. The new hospital, which will replace Torrance Memorial’s original tower built in 1971, will feature the latest medical technologies, more beds and space and a modernized design. The seven-level Patient Tower will house 256 private rooms, 18 surgical and interventional treatment rooms as well as a basement with a central utility plant and a tunnel connecting the existing hospital to the new facility. The Burn Unit will relocate to the new Patient Tower once the new tower opens in spring 2015. +
Related Stories
| Oct 27, 2014
Studio Gang Architects designs residential tower with exoskeleton-like exterior for Miami
Jeanne Gang's design reinvents the Florida room with shaded, asymmetrical balconies.
| Oct 26, 2014
New York initiates design competition for upgrading LaGuardia, Kennedy airports
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state would open design competitions to fix and upgrade New York City’s aging airports. But financing construction is still unsettled.
| Oct 26, 2014
Study asks: Do green schools improve student performance?
A study by DLR Group and Colorado State University attempts to quantify the student performance benefits of green schools.
Sponsored | | Oct 24, 2014
Infographic: 5 key considerations for securing modular workspace
Keep these five considerations in mind for your next project that may benefit from modular space. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 24, 2014
Herzog & de Meuron reveals plans for redesign of Roche pharmaceutical campus in Germany
The project includes the addition of a 205-meter-high tower and research center, as well as the renovation of an historic office building designed by Swiss architect Otto R. Salvisber.
Sponsored | | Oct 23, 2014
From slots to public safety: Abandoned Detroit casino transformed into LEED-certified public safety headquarters
First constructed as an office for the Internal Revenue Service, the city's new public safety headquarters had more recently served as a temporary home for the MGM Casino. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 23, 2014
Santiago Calatrava-designed church breaks ground in Lower Manhattan
Saturday marked the public "ground blessing" ceremony for the Saint Nicholas National Shrine, the Greek Orthodox Church destroyed on 9/11 by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
| Oct 23, 2014
Prehistory museum's slanted roof mimics archaeological excavation [slideshow]
Mimicking the unearthing of archaeological sites, Henning Larsen Architects' recently opened Moesgaard Museum in Denmark has a planted roof that slopes upward out of the landscape.
| Oct 23, 2014
China's 'weird' buildings: President Xi Jinping wants no more of them
During a literary symposium in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged architects, authors, actors, and other artists to produce work with "artistic and moral value."
| Oct 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index shows strong demand for institutional, mixed-practice design
AIA reported the September ABI score was 55.2, up from a mark of 53.0 in August. This score reflects an increase in design activity.
