Photo by Aker Imaging

Memorial Hermann Healthcare System East Tower

Phase one of the campus expansion consisted of a new eight-story tower, with surgery suites on the second floor and central sterile processing on the third floor. Phase two included 36 new medical-surgical, monitored private patient rooms, for a total of 45,593 sq ft of space.

Placement of the building foundation required relocation of every wet and dry underground utility served by the central utility plant or the outside infrastructure service provider. Another challenge was constructing the new building without disrupting existing hospital facilities. This meant maintaining 10 functioning operating rooms and support services, sustaining good indoor air quality, keeping patients and staff satisfied, and extending wayfinding from the hospital entry to the site.

The jobsite was extremely tight, so the team adopted several key measures. These included enlarging the central plant to support additional facility demands, relocating the existing MRI out of the footprint of the new building and constructing a new swing space to temporarily accommodate displaced staff and support services. Incoming and outgoing air traffic was closely coordinated to ensure uninterrupted service.

Construction activities, storage of building materials and placement of the major mechanical equipment were coordinated with the ER, surgery and materials management departments to prevent disruptions and noise and vibration impacts on operating-room procedures and to allow access for patients, the public and staff.

Key Players

General Contractors Manhattan Construction (shell), Balfour Beatty (build-out), Houston

Owner Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Houston

Architect of Record WHR Architects Inc., Houston

Program Manager Broaddus & Associates, Houston

Structural/Civil Walter P Moore Associates Inc., Houston

MEP design Smith Seckman Reid (shell), Sha Smith Associates (build-out), Houston