$1 Billion Children’s Hospital
CHICAGO — Children’s Memorial Hospital is using building information modeling to ensure that design and construction remain on target for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The $1 billion, 23-story project is expected to open in summer 2012.
The contractors, Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis and Power Construction of Chicago, are using BIM’s three-dimensional modeling
capabilities to identify and address potential design and construction issues before they impact building schedules and budgets. For example, contractors will use BIM to ensure that they are routing piping, ductwork and conduit properly before work actually begins. Additionally, the technology will allow builders to view a virtual comparison of potential heat loss based on which materials are selected for the building’s enclosure.
capabilities to identify and address potential design and construction issues before they impact building schedules and budgets. For example, contractors will use BIM to ensure that they are routing piping, ductwork and conduit properly before work actually begins. Additionally, the technology will allow builders to view a virtual comparison of potential heat loss based on which materials are selected for the building’s enclosure.“BIM helps us coordinate and schedule 50-plus subcontractors’ work inside the building,” says Robert Nartonis, senior vice president of Mortenson Construction. “It saves money because it avoids site delays and change orders common to a project of this size and scope.”
Utilizing BIM technology for a hospital project of this magnitude is groundbreaking, according to hospital officials. Any time a remodeling or renovation project needs to take place post-construction, hospital officials will use the BIM model to visualize the space, review possibilities and schedule the necessary work before construction begins.
Situated on the campus of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Lurie Children’s will be connected via pedestrian bridge to Prentice Women’s Hospital. It will house a 36-room cardiac care unit and programs for enhanced neurocritical care and pediatric autonomic medicine.
The emergency department will contain between 25 and 45 beds, while its 288 inpatient beds will all be private. Family amenities will include sleeping rooms, in-room showers and shared kitchen, dining and respite spaces.
Architects from Zimmer Gunsul Frasca of New York, Solomon Cordwell Buenz of Chicago and Anderson Mikos Architects of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., inserted a number of green and child-friendly features into the new facility. Lurie Children’s Hospital will include a 5,000-square-foot sky garden and an activity and respite area, where a translucent interactive light wall will be located. Designers also planned a 13,000-square-foot roof garden, a light-colored exterior that reduces heat island effect and efficient plumbing fixtures and ventilation systems.
During construction, which began April 2008, workers recycled 50 percent of all demolition and construction materials, and they are using recycled content for 10 percent of all building materials. Developers are targeting LEED certification for the new hospital.
