At Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, N.J., the renovation of a single floor, Simon Level 5, has received a Gold LEED Commercial Interiors certification from the USGBC. The 14,070 square foot project, the renovation of a 1948 semi private room bed floor into an in-patient unit focused on oncology patients, encompasses 30 patient rooms and supportareas including a nurses station, pharmacy, a staff lounge, two waiting rooms and administrative offices. Although small in scope the project has had high impact at the hospital, demonstrating that sustainability can be achieved despite the challenges of being located in an existing building.
Located in the Simon Building, which serves as the main entrance leading into the Morristown Memorial Hospital campus, the project comprises three patient room wings connected by a centralized nursing station and elevator lobby. Patient rooms are located along the perimeter of the building, making them easily accessible to nursing staff. Newly installed air-handling units on the building’s rooftop and deck-to-deck wall partition provide patient room ventilation and air conditioning.
The project is designed to 25% water use reduction and 21.28% lighting power density reduction. In addition, 77% of construction waste was recycled and diverted away from the landfill. Sustainable project materials and high indoor environmental quality (IEQ) were a focus of the design and construction, resulting in a12.6% materials with recycled content, 61% manufactured regionally, and 13 of 35 LEED points achieved by the project coming from the IEQ category. The hospital’s decision to reuse all of the patient beds resulted in 68% furniture reuse for the project, thus capitalizing on existing resources to conserve the new. The project’s urban location with a transportation network and community connectivity also contributed towards the LEED certification.
In an effort to make the entire Simon building more energy efficient, improvements were made to other portions of the building outside the immediate project scope. The two new air-handling units were sized not only serve the 5th floor, but to improve the indoor air quality of floors 2-4 as well. Improvements were also made on the Simon building rooftop where fifty-three percent of the building’s rooftop was replaced with a new, high-reflective, roofing material. BD+C
Related Stories
| Jun 11, 2014
Esri’s interactive guide to 2014 World Cup Stadiums
California-based Esri, a supplier of GIS software, created a nifty interactive map that gives viewers a satellite perspective of Brazil’s many new stadiums.
| Jun 10, 2014
Site optimization: Paving the way for smoother land development projects
The biggest cost differential when dealing in site development from one site to another is the earthwork. So, when selecting a site, it is critical to not only take into account the initial purchase price of the property, but also what sort of investment it will take to prep the site for development.
| Jun 10, 2014
Gaudi’s famed cathedral on ice: Dutch students to construct 132-foot ice replica of Sagrada Familia
"Sagrada Familia in Ice" will be built with a mixture of wooden fibers and plain ice that is three times stronger than ice.
| Jun 10, 2014
Built-in balcony: New skylight windows can fold out to create a patio
Roof window manufacturer Fakro offers a skylight window system that quickly converts into an open-air balcony.
| Jun 10, 2014
New York's first-ever public housing for visually-impaired begins upgrade
Selis Manor is the first government-funded residence for the vision-impaired and disabled in New York City. MAP’s design eases crowding, increases security, and separates residents and visitors.
| Jun 9, 2014
6 design strategies for integrating living and learning on campus
Higher education is rapidly evolving. As we use planning and design to help our clients navigate major shifts in culture, technology, and funding, it is essential to focus on strategies that help foster an education that is relevant after graduation. One way to promote relevance is to strengthen the bond between academic disciplines and the campus residential life experience.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| Jun 9, 2014
10 projects named 2014 AIA Small Project Award winners
Yale's funky new Ground café and a pavilion made from 53,780 recycled plastic bottles are among the nation's best new small projects.
| Jun 9, 2014
Eli Broad museum files $19.8 million lawsuit over delays
The museum, meant to hold Eli and Edythe Borad's collection of contemporary art, is suing the German company Seele for what the museum describes as delays in the creation of building blocks for its façade.
| Jun 8, 2014
What’s the word of the day? It’s all about ‘resiliency’
Just for the sake of argument, let’s put aside the rhetoric about climate change—whether it’s actually happening, whether it’s a result of manmade activity—and agree that we are experiencing some pretty dramatic weather events that are having huge impacts on populations here in the U.S. and worldwide.