The new $153 million, 94,000-square-foot
(8,733-m2) Patient Care Tower at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., opened in November 2009 and features state-of-the-art technology in advanced imaging and diagnostic services, as well as patientand family-centered care. With the opening of the new tower, Mission Hospital is the largest hospital in Orange County with 552 beds. Construction of the four-level tower was also aided by state-of-the-art building information modeling technology, used to create three-dimensional mock-ups of above-ceiling utilities and in-wall coordination for high-congestion areas on the building’s unique exterior to help resolve system clashes before construction began.
Built next to the existing Mission Hospital five-story tower and pavilion, the new four-level Patient Care Tower includes 44 private rooms, advanced diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, the Zimmer Neuroscience Wing specializing in critical care, the Progressive Care & Stroke Unit, the Swenson Family Linear Accelerator Suite and the Schumacher Healing Garden. The expansion also includes a new 45-seat chapel open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to patients and visitors of all faiths. The chapel and healing garden are located between the existing tower and the new tower to invite easy access to the entire community and emphasize the spiritual and holistic healing mission of the hospital, which is a member of the St. Joseph Health System.
Winner of an AIA Design Award, RBB Architects Inc., Los Angeles, designed the tower to promote healing for patients and to provide a comfortable atmosphere for families, along with an enhanced state-of-the-art working environment for hospital staff. The half-cylindrical chapel, which features a glass roof structure supported from the top by radial trusses, serves as a predominant design element.
The general contractor, McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., created a seismically sound tower exterior clad with Alucobond aluminum composite material from 3A Composites USA, Mooresville, N.C., and includes an external steelbraced frame conveying a sense of the highly technological, state-of-the-art patient services provided inside the building. A total of 75,000 square feet (6,968 m2) of 0.16-inch (4-mm) Alucobond ACM was utilized to clad the tower and chapel, including 8,000 square feet (743 m2) in custom Rose Metallic, 23,000 square feet (2,137 m2) in Bone White and 44,000 square feet (4,088 m2) in Silver Metallic.
“We chose Alucobond for cladding because of its flexibility, durability and high quality,” said Sylvia Botero, AIA, LEED AP, senior vice president, RBB Architects. “Alucobond imposes very few design limitations; and, this project featured any number of cylindrical and radial shapes. Alucobond allowed for these sculpted forms. It gave us freedom of design. And, because the hospital is located within four miles of the Pacific Ocean, we needed a corrosion-resistant panel. We’ve used Alucobond panels on other projects and know they perform well.”
According to Botero, design of the Patient Care Tower began in November 2001 and following state approvals was completed for start of construction in April 2007.
Keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd., North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, fabricated 3,100 Alucobond panels for the tower and chapel utilizing three-dimensional modeling software. San Diegobased Tower Glass Inc. completed the installation of the KPS System A-Plus Dry Joint Pressure Equalized Rainscreen panel system.
“There were several elements on this project with complicated geometry,” said Paul Dalzell, U.S. operations manager, KPS. “One of Alucobond’s strengths is that it can be bent to accommodate just about any radius or acute angle.
Alucobond was the perfect choice for an application like this. We were able to achieve everything the architects were looking for, and they seemed very happy with the results.”
KPS began work on-site in October 2008, but started three-dimensional drawings two years prior as part of the BIM technology utilized on the project. “We had to coordinate everything with the structural steel, glazing and stud contractors and used advanced three-dimensional collision-detection software to flag potential problems between trades, months before anything had been erected,” Dalzell said. “This process allowed us to fabricate panels with dimensions pulled from the 3-D model, eliminating the need for field measurements and greatly accelerating the schedule. It was a good example of the real-world results BIM technology can yield.”
The extensive three-dimensional modeling was developed prior to construction to visualize and resolve any system clashes. The resulting design and construction coordination achieved accelerated schedule goals, with minimal change order costs, according to RBB Architects.
RBB Architects and McCarthy Building Cos., were awarded the 2010 Marvin M. Black Award for excellence in partnership for the project from the Associated General Contractors of America.
