HDR was selected to design Humber River’s new 1.7-million-sf hospital in Toronto. The hospital will be the largest acute care hospital in the greater Toronto area and the first in North America to automate all of its operational processes.
As the first fully digital hospital in North America, the hospital is designed to support the latest medical technology in a completely digital environment.
Jerry Jeter, healthcare principal at HDR, notes that, “although many hospitals have digital components, Humber River is the first hospital in North America to fully integrate and automate all of its processes; everything is done digitally.”
Upon entering the hospital, the ability to easily access data and information enables users to “connect” from points such as kiosks situated throughout the hospital or on mobile devices anywhere in the building. Once in patient rooms, Integrated Bedside Terminals (IBTs) allow patients to control their environment, order restaurant-style room service, and communicate with caregivers and family members via video. Doctors and nurses use voice recognition software to complete charts verbally, and smart bed technology monitors patients’ vital signs and updates electronic medical records immediately. Lab work specimens are delivered via pneumatic tubes, with results returned to hand-held mobile devices within minutes. While all this is happening, Automated-Guided Vehicles (AGVs) deliver supplies and equipment to units and clinics, allowing caregivers to fully devote their time to patient care. “The new facility is as automated as they come,” added Jeter. “The technology reinvented workflows and makes patient care a top priority.”
In addition to being digital, the hospital incorporates lean and “green” sustainable design principles. The lean approach to planning emphasizes the use of on-stage/off-stage areas inside the facility, as well as consistent floor layouts, standardized rooms and clinics, and centralized support spaces. Green design is realized by maximizing daylighting opportunities, orienting the building to minimize heat gain, using sustainable materials and high-performance building systems, and incorporating green roofs on 50% of the roofs throughout the campus. The facility adheres to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system guidelines with a goal of achieving LEED Silver certification.
Visible from King’s Highway 401, Humber River is designed as a local neighborhood landmark. The design of the hospital takes inspiration from the architecture of Toronto, following clean rectilinear lines and using primarily glass, metal panel, precast concrete and masonry. The hospital is composed of three main forms: the 14-storey inpatient tower, which increases patient capacity from 549 to 656 beds; the ambulatory clinic block, designed to give each clinic its own front door; and the diagnostic and treatment podium. Adjacent to the hospital building is the centerpiece of the entire campus, the South Plaza. The terraced plaza will support community events and feature outdoor seating and areas for respite.
The value of the contract with Plenary Health Care Partnerships in today’s dollars is approximately $1.75 billion. The contract cost covers the design and construction of the hospital, building maintenance, life-cycle repair and renewal, as well as project financing. The Toronto-based Plenary Health Care Partnerships team includes: Plenary Health and HCP Social Infrastructure (developer), PCL Constructors (construction), HDR (architecture), Johnson Controls (facilities management), and RBC Capital Markets (financial advisor).
The hospital broke ground on December 2nd and is scheduled to open in late 2015. BD+C
Related Stories
| Mar 2, 2011
How skyscrapers can save the city
Besides making cities more affordable and architecturally interesting, tall buildings are greener than sprawl, and they foster social capital and creativity. Yet some urban planners and preservationists seem to have a misplaced fear of heights that yields damaging restrictions on how tall a building can be. From New York to Paris to Mumbai, there’s a powerful case for building up, not out.
| Mar 1, 2011
Smart cities: getting greener and making money doing it
The Global Green Cities of the 21st Century conference in San Francisco is filled with mayors, architects, academics, consultants, and financial types all struggling to understand the process of building smarter, greener cities on a scale that's practically unimaginable—and make money doing it.
| Mar 1, 2011
How to make rentals more attractive as the American dream evolves, adapts
Roger K. Lewis, architect and professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post about the rising market demand for rental housing and how Building Teams can make these properties a desirable choice for consumer, not just an economically prudent and necessary one.
| Mar 1, 2011
New survey shows shifts in hospital construction projects
America’s hospitals and health systems are focusing more on renovation or expansion than new construction, according to a new survey conducted by Health Facilities Management magazine and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE). In fact, renovation or expansion accounted for 73% of construction projects at hospitals responding to the survey.
| Mar 1, 2011
AIA selects 6 communities for long-term sustainability program
The American Institute of Architects today announced it has selected 6 communities throughout the country to receive technical assistance under the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) program in 2011. The communities selected are Shelburne, Vt., Apple Valley, Mn., Pikes Peak Region, Co., Southwest DeKalb County, Ga., Bastrop, Tx., and Santa Rosa, Ca. The SDAT program represents a significant institutional investment by the AIA in public service work to assist communities in developing policy frameworks and long term sustainability plans.
| Feb 24, 2011
Perkins+Will designs 100 LEED Certified buildings
Perkins+Will announced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of its 100th sustainable building, marking a key milestone for the firm and for the sustainable design industry. The Vancouver-based Dockside Green Phase Two Balance project marks the firm’s 100th LEED certified building and is tied for the highest scoring LEED building worldwide with its sister project, Dockside Green Phase One.
| Feb 24, 2011
New reports chart path to net-zero-energy commercial buildings
Two new reports from the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) on achieving net-zero-energy use in commercial buildings say that high levels of energy efficiency are the first, largest, and most important step on the way to net-zero.
| Feb 24, 2011
Lending revives stalled projects
An influx of fresh capital into U.S. commercial real estate is bringing some long-stalled development projects back to life and launching new construction of apartments, office buildings and shopping centers, according to a Wall Street Journal article.
| Feb 23, 2011
London 2012: What Olympic Park looks like today
London 2012 released a series of aerial images that show progress at Olympic Park, including a completed roof on the stadium (where seats are already installed), tile work at the aquatic centre, and structural work complete on more than a quarter of residential projects at Olympic Village.
| Feb 23, 2011
Call for Entries: 2011 Building Team Awards, Deadline: March 25, 2011
The 14th Annual Building Team Awards recognizes newly built projects that exhibit architectural and construction excellence—and best exemplify the collaboration of the Building Team, including the owner, architect, engineer, and contractor.
