CREJ

/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2017

vertical expansion was Adam Gross, superintendent for JE Dunn. “En-

suring we had a good logistics plan was critical to maintaining the

client experience,” said Gross. “All the work was overhead, so safety for

patients below was a big concern.” Crews installed a 20-foot-tall cano-

py to create a 2,000-square-foot area for pedestrian safety and to create

a drive lane and sidewalk for access. We installed a temporary roofing

system to prevent rain and moisture intrusion as the ninth and 10th

floors were constructed. After evaluating schedule options, HCA elect-

ed to close off the entire adjacent lower floor of the patient tower for

an eight-week period to allow for the work to be completed quickly

instead of keeping the floor operational and extending the construc-

tion duration of the vertical expansion. Concurrently, the team began

replacing the entire emergency power system while keeping patient

care operational. Crews demolished a portion of the existing central

utility plant to create a much larger footprint to accommodate three

2,500 kVA generators. Sequencing of utility shutdowns and decom-

missioning of the existing switch gear coincided with installation of

new equipment. During the most critical switchovers, the schedule

was managed on a minute-to-minute basis.

“We rely heavily on a team mentality and we involve our trade

partners on how to overcome the toughest issues,” said Gross. “We are

very fortunate that HCA values early involvement of subcontractor

input.” The team replaced one of the existing chillers during the win-

ter when there was no demand for service. The new 600-ton chiller

was shipped in sections due to space constraints in the chiller room.

The new chiller was then reassembled on site by the mechanical con-

tractor so it could be easily maneuvered into the chiller plant.

JE Dunn was also tasked with the infill of two floors below the Crit-

ical Care Unit of the hospital, which totaled 21,000 sf of core and shell

space. The area was in-filled in what was the old valet parking lot. To

the west of the infill area was the current loading dock, and on the

east is the main exit from the front door of the hospital. In order to

keep access and egress to the hospital in service, the crews construct-

ed a temporary road to route traffic through the north half of the

CCU while also rerouting and tying in the facilities’ city ditch to the

perimeter of the building. All construction activities were strategi-

cally scheduled around Colorado’s water season and our other site

activities to avoid project delays. To maintain the hospital’s high ex-

pectation toward its clients’ experience required strategic planning of

all the logistics.

“We really had nowhere to go, so getting the trades to buy-in into

odd schedules (days and hours) was necessary for timely completion,”

Gross stated. “Our ask to the trade partners is to think about the pa-

tient first and the work second.”

The newest and future construction activities for Swedish are well

underway. Most health care projects will typically involve an addition

or expansion in the effort to expand their bed count. “The work the

team is completing today is rare,” Brisebois said. “It’s a major interior

renovation which touches several floors concurrently and the hospi-

tal is not adding a single bed.” Brisebois feels very fortune to have an

experienced team that understands the drill with health care work

and is extremely customer-oriented. He has a deep understanding of

the complexities project teams must deal with from his days on the

contractors’ side of the table working with HCA as his client. In re-

sponse, Brisebois said, “The first day is always very simple because you

go in with a plan, but inevitably the plan will change.”

As the Perkins+Will teammembers discuss the future master plan-

ning for the Swedish campus, they keep an adaptable and flexible

attitude. Frazier leverages the team’s on-site knowledge to gain an un-

derstanding of what happens day-to-day, hour-by-hour as she leads

the next major planning efforts for HCA.

“You can’t know the existing issues until you’re in it,” Frazier said.

“You just stare into another solution on the fly and be as resilient and

adaptable with problem solving.”

/ Swedish Medical Center: /

PHOTOS:

Frank Ooms

OPENING ART TOP:

Swedish Medical Center’s completed vertical

expansion of the ninth and 10th floors

OPENING ART BOTTOM:

Nurse’s station on the new 10th floor addition

of hospital tower.

ABOVE:

Critical Care Unit lobby on the newly

renovated fourth floor in the main building