New Main Hospital, Site Park, and Underground Garage Construction Progress Update #29

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1 New Main Hospital, Site Park, and Underground Garage Construction Progress Update #29 Date: April 4, 2011 From: Gary Claar Engineering Services Weather is now cooperating much better and work on our medical campus continues at a steady yet quick pace. We will begin seeing some very extensive changes to the exterior parts of our main campus expansion projects. The underground visitor s garage has most of the exterior façade below grade waterproofed now. The next step is to begin waterproofing what we call the lid so that a special recipe mixed dirt can be trucked into the site and carefully spread over the top of the garage. This special dirt will form the foundation or good soil for all the plant material, trees, and lawn area that will be a part of our campus park. In addition to this work, the finishing touches of the sidewalk and landscaped area adjacent to our C Lobby entry will be concluding as well this summer. Related to the exterior of the main hospital building, workers are getting geared up to put in place the special steel tubes and framing that will form the essential skeletal framework for the glass entry canopy at our new front door. The tubular steel has been carefully crafted in the metal shop and has arrived recently in preparation of its installation. Workers are also installing roofing at the new entry vestibule in advance of the canopy installation. The new connecting corridor that will link our current C lobby to the main hospital building is quietly being constructed as well. In a few months, you will see the corridor just south of the lab area connect to the current C Lobby space. This glass enclosure will provide a nice visual link for visitors to travel and give them a sense of way finding as they travel with their children to the necessary appointments here on campus. Up on the roof of the main building, the workers experienced in heli-pad installations are installing all the detailed piping that will provide a glycol liquid tube system throughout the aluminum plank landing pad for helicopters. The system will keep the landing surface clear of ice and snow (something we all may be tired of now) so that the copter pilots can deliver a child safety to our trauma units. On a windy day, like I experienced today while up on the roof, there are tie-offs provided on the heli-pad so that the copters can be snuggly tied down in the event of high wind. Some photos of this ongoing work are included in later pages of this update. Next month I hope to provide some photos and information related to NCH staff who have been involved with our campus expansion over the last 4+ years. Perhaps you will recognize some of them. If you have any questions about the progress of the construction, please let me know and I ll be happy to answer your question. 1

2 Aerial views of the construction. Photos provided by Turner Smoot Construction. 2

3 Special curved steel tubes will be lifted into place soon to attach to the steel brackets welded in place at the exterior concrete columns at the main entry. These tubes will support the glass entry canopy. View from inside the east exit stair of the Underground Visitor s Garage. This stair will have a glass façade on all four walls and look out onto the green space above the garage. 3

4 One of 2 exhaust vents located along Livingston Avenue. There will be about 4 of dirt and grass in this area. The vent will eventually be 6 above the grass. Exhaust fan below the exhaust vent above. The garage will have 4 main exhaust fans to remove any fumes that cars exhaust when driving through the garage. The fan speed various and will change through a special control panel if more air flow is needed. 4

5 Painting has started in the underground garage. All walls, columns, and ceilings will be painted white to increase the brightness of the space. LED lighting installation has started recently. On the lowest level of the garage, the entry vestibule is being constructed w/ a special shape. In this area will also be special shaped bollards made to look like giant acorns (a part of our animal friendly look). 5

6 Visitors will exit the garage in this area. Special ticket/exit booths will be installed soon. NCH will be changing from the ole token system to a newer up to date ticket dispenser system. This will allow visitors to pay by cash or credit card either at a pay on foot station or right at the exit gates. The underground garage will have the latest in LED lighting which will provide a brighter feeling in the garage as well as save energy over the long term (left photo). The façade of the underground garage is exposed at the entrance which will also form part of the outdoor dining area just off the new cafeteria. Special details in the exposed concrete wall will add interest. Above this area is the framing for one of the glass exit stairs planned (right photo). 6

7 As a part of the design of the exterior dining courtyard, the garage will have faux or fake windows with special reflective glass to give the dining area a sense of being larger. The faux windows will be in the recesses of the concrete wall (left photo). A view of the dining courtyard from above looking towards RB III job site (right photo). Up on the roof at the heli-port pad, workers put all the piping together that will provide a heated surface during inclement weather conditions in the winter. The aluminum platform is now in place. These contractors travel to many states and countries to install these special systems. The two workers on site today mentioned they have work in Texas, Illinois, and even Dubai planned soon. Hospital construction projects currently being planned provide many heli-port type facilities throughout the world. 7

8 On a windy day like today, special tie-offs are used that are specifically located in the heli-pad where the helicopters land. There are four of these which can have a door opened to access a tie-off (left photo). The roof of the connecting exterior corridor is nearly done. Workers continue to work on this part of the project which will link a pathway from our current facilities to our new replacement hospital tower (right photo). 8