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North Austin Medical Center Expansion and Renovation
Project Information
- Project Location:
- Austin, TX
- Status:
- Completed
- Structure Type:
- Misc Project
References
- Owner:
- St. David’s Healthcare Partnership
- Architect:
- Earl Swensson Associates
- Client:
- St. David’s Healthcare Partnership
Scope Of Work
This project was a new 175,000-sq.-ft., three-level patient tower, along with 23,000-sq.-ft. in renovations to the existing hospital. The project included vertical and horizontal expansion to the women's center, with surgery center and medical offices on the ground floor.
One of the most critical challenges was removing exterior precast panels to expose the building substructure. Field measurements for steel tie-in points, exact dimensions of concrete edges, and structural openings all had to be verified. However, removing the panels left the building's exterior skin exposed to weather and environmental breaches to Infectious Disease Controls. This condition was more exaggerated in some cases because some of the panels were three stories tall, opening three floors at a time to the exposures referenced.
The DPR staff engaged in many creative methods to get this segment of work done and still keep the areas behind the precast in operation. It was necessary to constantly come up with new ways to install temporary weather protection and monitor the installations. Coordination with the facility and end user for shut downs of the space was continuous. The work was completed with no incidents to patients, staff, or the facility.
The team created an electronic model of the concrete structure using Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools. Because the details could be accurately modeled electronically, potential clashes were resolved before workers broke ground. DPR was also able to give the subcontractor a 3D view of what the underground work looked like, resulting in a higher level of quality.
