The project team collaborated with the owner and other partners to be able to meet the goal of keeping the hospital open without sacrificing patient care during what could have been a disruptive project, according to its submission.

Photo courtesy of Mayo Clinic

“Giving serious consideration to our patient-first mantra, we determined that it was possible to build the … building in one phase, after many initially thought it needed to be phased,” the team said.

Members worked with partners to build two 300-ft-long prefabricated, horizontal exit enclosed hallways to allow the public and hospital personnel to continue to access the emergency department. Materials that were prefabricated included headwalls, MEP racks and exterior panels.

Photo courtesy of Mayo Clinic

This option allowed the main build to occur in one phase, shaving 17 months off the schedule, the submitters said.

Another challenge was connecting the existing basement to the new one. The construction team decided, after consulting with experts from the geotechnical engineer, trade partners and the owner, that the basements could be linked through tunneling, rather than by excavating the connection.

option saved more than a year off the original construction timeline and prevented major disruptions to the facility, the project team said. Members successfully tunneled 250 ft under the existing hospital to create a service corridor.