Construction Begins for Saint Barnabas
LIVINGSTON, N.J. — Construction is under way for a west-wing expansion at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
Hospital, construction and designers collaborating on the project held a groundbreaking for the expansion in May. The project team includes New York-based Francis Cauffman as the architect; Springfield, N.J.-based Wm. Blanchard Co. as the construction manager; Fairfax, Va.-based Dewberry Engineers as the site/civil engineer and landscape architect; King of Prussia, Pa.-based The Harman Group as the structural engineer and parking garage architect; and Cherry Hill, N.J.-based PWI Engineering as the building systems engineer.
The $250 million expansion will add 241,000 square feet of new construction, 29,000 square feet of renovated space and a new structured parking facility. Design for the expansion is patient-centered, adding expansive spaces that will enhance patient recovery, facilitate staff interaction and attract doctors. While the project aims to enhance patient and staff experience, the number of beds will not increase.
“This transformative project positions us for the future,” said John Bonamo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Barnabas Health, in a statement. “Its dramatic form, smart organization and light-filled spaces communicate our supportive and approachable philosophy.”
The five-story addition is slightly angled from the existing complex. Its light and transparent façade emphasizes glazing as a counterpoint to the existing brick, 1960s-era facility. The visual and functional centerpiece of the addition is a two-story, structurallyglazed lobby.
The hospital’s arrival and welcoming point is being created in a grand open space, which designers say is the heart of the project. The existing lobby will be repurposed for swift discharge functions. Francis Cauffman designed a two-front door model for the diagnostic services in the new addition, where both inpatients and outpatients will be served by cross-trained staff. Organic, curvilinear forms with views of nature and various furniture options allow visitors choice over their environment and promote stress reduction.
The new wing is designed as an all-private room model; this will allow the hospital to increase its number of private rooms without increasing patient volume. Private rooms, according to patient-centered methods, improve the nurse-patient relationship, reduce infection, reduce the need for medication and hence medication errors, help visitors relax and accommodate confidential conversations. Bedside computers, stools for clinicians, sleep sofas and guest seating encourage patient interaction. The hospital provides in-room food ordering and an interactive patient network.
The NICU will be completely replaced. The square footage has been expanded three-fold in order to comply with current guidelines for spatial clearances while accommodating both private rooms and semi-private pods that will provide quality space for NICU families while implementing state-of-the-art technology.
Francis Cauffman designed circulation patterns to create efficient connections that make the various zones of the hospital more accessible and functional. The reconfigured arrival sequence provides a safer trip from the parking lot and garage to the building, including for those with limited accessibility. Colorful new wayfinding and visual clues will be deployed throughout the facility.