Best Interior Design/Tenant Improvement

Photo courtesy Miner-Dederick Construction
The project included 17 floors of tenant build-out.
Photo courtesy Miner-Dederick Construction
The Houston office of PageSoutherlandPage served as the project architect.

Miner-Dederick Construction completed 17 floors of tenant build-out including the president's floor, conference rooms, a fitness center, the Lantern Café and a distance learning center at MD Anderson Cancer Center Pickens Tower and Faculty Center. With design by the Houston office of PageSoutherlandPage, the $33-million project began in November 2008 and was delivered on time in May 2011.

"Our team overcame a variety of obstacles such as working in an occupied hospital, managing noise, dust, infection control and maintaining a clean workplace," says Julia Odell, vice president of project management and senior project manager for Miner-Dederick. "We are particularly proud in recording no accidents during the 359,000-plus man-hours for the project while completing all phases on schedule as required for owner occupancy."

The design directive for the entire project was to allow the reuse of the built-out spaces for other purposes than those normally required by office buildings. The floor loading, for example, was increased beyond that normally stipulated to allow the building to be used in the future for other hospital needs.

The design within the office space allowed room reconfiguration with a minimal impact on the operations of other spaces while the change was instituted. The infrastructure of the building also allows for the capacity to have a shelter in place in the event of a hurricane, flooding or severe storm.

Adapting new and existing infrastructure to accommodate the new design criteria while trying to maximize working space was also challenging. The Miner-Dederick team focused on the kitchen, café and fitness areas to maintain ventilation, HVAC, fire detection and fire-suppression requirements while minimizing impact to ceiling heights.

Matching wood finish colors across different manufacturers and manufacturing processes was especially challenging in the president's office and business areas. Hard woods, veneers and laminates had to be color matched while still maintaining the project schedule.

Key Players

Owner: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston

General Contractor: Miner-Dederick Construction, Houston

Lead Design: PageSoutherlandPage, Houston

MEP: PageSoutherlandPage, Houston

HVAC: Infinity Systems, Houston

Plumbing: MLN Co., Houston

Foodservice Equipment: Preferred Foodservice Design & Supply, Houston

Submitted by:

Miner-Dederick Construction