Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center is programming and designing a new 25,000 SF clinic that incorporates future flexibility for pandemic response and community access aspects that address social determinants of health.
The pandemic resiliency design begins with site planning ideas from COVID testing sites to allow temporary outdoor space to be used to address the specific needs of future health crises. The mechanical systems are being evaluated to adapt to different situations to be able to isolate areas of the building and increase air changes to clinical spaces to remove airborne contagions. Program changes to allow for triage of visitors at the building entrance and the ability to provide features to accommodate more acute levels of patients in emergency conditions are also influencing the design.
The clinical programs place primary care at the center of the patient experience, while integrating behavioral health, Ob/Gyn, and dental care into a multi-disciplinary approach to wellness. The project expands the social programs available to patients by creating a stigma-free food pantry, an education center to address chronic conditions and a teaching kitchen to provide classes on nutrition and wellness.
The Smith Center provide offices for clinicians for their clinical research. Located in the heart of the Longwood Medical Area, it is convenient for BIDMC’s main campus and their patients, while also providing a touch down space for research assistants who split time between the hospital and the Smith Center. The lobby and entryway provide a unique branding opportunity for the Smith Center, while the overall space provides flexible collaboration areas for research staff.
LEAN Design
This project utilized Lean planning practices in design, construction, and target value estimating.
This substation and automatic transfer switch replacement project replaced the emergency power branch switchgear and electrical infrastructure for the hospital, including the design of a new 8,000 SF penthouse at the existing roof level of the hospital to house the new electrical gear. The project presented many logistical challenges due to the existing conditions and the quantity of conduits that were required to feed the existing hospital programs.
The team raised the new floor level of the penthouse to allow for the construction of a new structural slab designed for the new equipment load’s electrical gear, and provide a new interstitial space to route the conduits from the existing risers to the new electrical gear. Once construction of the penthouse was completed, a series of electrical shutdowns were scheduled with the hospital clinical programs to transfer the existing emergency power circuits to the new electrical gear, coordinated over the course of several months.
The Libby loading dock project relocated the existing materials management for BIDMC’s West Campus to the existing Libby Building to free up the site for the hospital’s new inpatient building. The project created two full tractor trailer loading bays and a third bay for smaller delivery trucks. The project added a large freight elevator and modernized the existing freight elevator so that materials can be received at the Libby building and distributed via the existing tunnel system to West Campus. The program included clean and soiled linen, red bag waste, trash, and recycling. Staging areas were a critical component of the project as demand shifted from incoming supplies during the early morning hours to carts and supplies leaving campus at the end of the day.
The project permanently relocated the bulk oxygen storage farm and new oxygen distribution to the West Campus including new connections for the future inpatient building. The siting and layout for the dock combined with the restrictions and limitations on the oxygen tanks provided for a very tight layout. Extensive coordination of vendors and suppliers was required to confirm site planning logistics for the tractor trailer and oxygen supply trucks servicing the hospital.
