Tight schedules and near-impossible deadlines are nothing new in the AEC world. But the Building Team for the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, Calif., faced especially alarming consequences for failure.
In 2006, a federally appointed receivership ordered the state of California and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide a 1,722-bed housing and healthcare facility for inmate-patients with long-term medical, acute medical, and intermediate mental health needs. A court-imposed deadline of January 2014 was set, with no room for an extension.
Failure to meet this deadline could result in imprisonment for some responsible parties. Following legal and economic hurdles, the project’s second phase began in June 2011 with the selection of a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and McCarthy Building Cos., in design partnership with HDR. (Phase one, including utilities, roadwork, grading, a central plant, and an electric perimeter fence, was begun a few months earlier by HOK and a Hensel Phelps-Granite joint venture.)
SILVER AWARD
Project summary
Housing and Healthcare Facility Stockton (HHF Stockton) Bid Package 2
California Health Care Facility, StocktonBUILDING TEAM
Submitting firm: McCarthy Building Cos.
Owner/developer: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Architect, MEP: HDR
Structural: Crosby Group
CM: Vanir Construction Management
GC: Clark/McCarthy, a Joint VentureGENERAL INFORMATION
Project size: 1.2 million sf
Construction cost: $528 million
Construction period: October 2011 to July 2013
Delivery method: Design-build
With a 742-day delivery schedule, the phase two team spent five months designing a 31-building complex for the 100-acre site. At 1.2 million sf, the program included 23 inmate housing buildings, a central kitchen, an administration building, a plant maintenance operation and facility maintenance building, four apartment-style units for overnight family visitations, and a shared services facility.
During the design phase, drafting was performed within a 3D Revit model, which was linked to the team’s Primavera cost-loaded critical path method schedule, creating a 5D model that incorporated the added dimensions of time and cost. The design had to address more than 4,000 criteria documents, with approval required from more than 30 stakeholders. Building codes for both correctional and healthcare facilities had to be considered. Licensing and permitting took place alongside the design process to solve potential problems before they arose.
The team then had 19 months to build the complex. A task force was created to keep all parties—the owner, facilities personnel, design-builders, and outside consultants—organized. With more than 1,200 workers completing $2 million of work each day, the task force ensured that the project stayed on track. All construction documents were added to a digital plan room, accessible via kiosks as well as at an on-site field office.
Economic development for the depressed region was a high priority for the client. Both the design-build team and the Department of Corrections organized outreach events offering employment opportunities. Of the 4,118 workers employed through the outreach program, more than 2,000 lived within a 50-mile radius of the project.
Ultimately, the facility was completed on time. Judges commented on the way the Building Team worked together to meet deadlines, and praised the complex’s clear wayfinding elements and ample daylighting.
“The Stockton healthcare facility takes an approach that is unlike other prison healthcare facilities by enhancing the healing environment through the use of natural light,” says judge Susan Heinking, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP O+M, Director of Sustainabilty and VP at VOA Associates. “This design not only improves the quality of the environment to heal in, but also improves the quality of the environment for the healthcare provider.”
Related Stories
| Jul 17, 2014
22 land questions to decide if your build site works
When you’re ready to build, land needs a serious amount of attention. Since it can singlehandedly shift your building plans, land must be investigated, questioned, and eyed from every angle. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 16, 2014
Mergers and acquisitions of AE firms on track for strong year in 2014
Through the first six months of 2014, Morrissey Goodale tracked 101 sales of U.S.-based architecture and engineering firms, roughly the same amount as during the first six months of 2013.
| Jul 16, 2014
Ware Malcomb announces New Jersey office expansion
Architecture and design firm also honored for commercial real estate projects in New Jersey.
| Jul 16, 2014
Learning design fundamentals in the digital age – How to balance learning and technology
My colleague and I were once asked an insightful question by a Civil Engineering Professor that sparked an interesting conversation. He’d been told about our software by some of his students who had used it during their summer internship. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 16, 2014
Check out this tree-like skyscraper concept for vertical farming
Aprilli Design Studio has stepped forward with a new idea for a vertical farm, which is intended to resemble a giant tree. It uses lightweight decks as outdoor growing space, adding up to about 25 acres of space.
| Jul 16, 2014
User input on aquatics center keeps students in the swim [2014 Building Team Awards]
Collaborative spirit abounds in the expansion and renovation of a high school pool facility in suburban Chicago.
| Jul 16, 2014
Nonresidential construction starts up 34% in June
Construction starts for nonresidential work saw a surge in June, rising more than a third compared with the previous month, according to Reed Construction Data.
| Jul 16, 2014
ASHRAE, IAQA team up to improve resources on indoor air quality
Indoor Air Quality Association will become part of the ASHRAE organization while maintaining its own brand and board; HQ will relocate to Atlanta.
| Jul 15, 2014
Michael Graves talks with Washington Post about new design eye from life in a wheelchair
Celebrated American architect Michael Graves sits with the Washington Post to talk about how being on a wheelchair changed the way he focuses on design.
| Jul 15, 2014
A look into the history of modular construction
Modular construction is more than a century old, and throughout its lifespan, the methods have been readapted to meet specific needs of different eras.