Harkins

Owner:

Mercy Medical Center, Inc.

Architect:

RTKL Architects, Inc.

General Contractor:

Harkins Builders, Inc.

Client:

Judy Weiland Mercy Medical Center, Inc.

Scope Of Work

At the first design meeting, all parties agreed that Mercy Medical’s new ambulatory services building would be open for business on September 1 twenty-six months later. This was an extraordinary goal for design and construction of a project of this scope, which Harkins Builders met, within budget. The building became Mercy Medical’s signature facility, housing the Weinberg Center for Women’s Health and Mercy’s Department of Radiation Oncology. It boasts high-end finishes and amenities  the interior, and includes doctor’s offices, surgical spaces, conference rooms, cafe, and a linear accelerator.

This is a seven-story steel, masonry, and curtain wall assembly with a ten-level, post-tensioned concrete parking garage providing 800 spaces. Access from the main Mercy hospital campus across Saratoga Street is provided by a two-level bridge with fully conditioned spaces.

The building design included a complex variety of spaces serving various needs (lobbies, offices, treatment areas, services, etc.) where every space was unique, highly detailed, with unusual shapes and surfaces. For example, the angle of the building’s ship’s bow window, as well as its curvature, are reflected  the interior, which includes many curved surfaces intended to be soothing for patients and visitors. The design also called for high-end materials and fixtures.

An unusual construction challenge was the room housing a high-end linear particle accelerator (LinAcc) located on this lower level, requiring an 8’6”-thick concrete ceiling that was installed over concrete wall of varying thickness, as well as special high-density block and 2″ solid lead sandwiched within the walls.

How Harkins Made a Difference

Harkins closely supervised work where many specialty trades were involved, and where high quality of workmanship was demanded and produced. For the one-of-a-kind staircases in the lobby, the miscellaneous metals sub did the stringer that formed the frame; the stone mason cut each piece to fit on a varying tread; the glass risers were installed with precision to fit in the grooves and bond with the stair above, and the handrails included custom curved glass panels.

Our team was agile and responsive to major changes. Just thirteen months before turnover, it was decided to include operating room space on the 3rd floor. This would need to connect with the main operating room in the adjacent building. So the connecting bridge changed from a one-story to a two-story structure. Therefore we had to raise the 3rd level of the garage by four feet to meet the Center’s 3rd floor. We were already pouring the 2nd floor of the garage, so the structural engineer started literally delivering drawings to the concrete crew floor by floor.

Harkins management of people and process meant the Weinberg Center opened for business as scheduled at the first design meeting just 26 months, on time, and on budget.