Banner Estrella Medical Center
West Side Wellness
by K. Robert Wendel

Designers and contractors are taking a bold new tack in hospital design at the Banner Estrella Medical Center in west Phoenix.

Crews from the Phoenix office of DPR Construction, Inc. broke ground on the 50-acre site in February 2003 and are aiming for a fall turnover date on the $92 million construction project. Because the project is located on the rapidly growing west side, designers carefully planned so future expansions wouldn't disrupt ongoing hospital operations.

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The seven-floor, 453,000-sq.-ft. hospital employs a variety of eclectic materials that include concrete, Galvalume ribbed wall panels, glass curtain walls and copper cladding, creating a new architectural vocabulary in a former alfalfa field.

Contractors were lucky to purchase the copper before the price started skyrocketing.

"We were able to come up with a copper system that didn't cost anymore than a good EIFS system," said DPR project manager Gerry DeWulf. "If we had to buy the copper now, we probably would have changed our minds."

The 172-bed hospital is designed to expand to nearly 600 beds during the next 10 to 15 years, but Banner officials said the area's growth would most likely accelerate expansion. Work on a tenant improvement shell space on the sixth floor is already moving ahead of schedule.

"With the growth on the west side, we expect to expand sooner rather than later," said Jeff Nelson, director of public affairs for Banner Health Systems. "We are looking at two more patient towers for a total of 600 beds, which will make us the second largest hospital in the state."

Summit Builders of Phoenix is building a 137,000-sq.-ft. medical office building on the site. An enclosed 250-ft. pedestrian bridge that stretches over the main entry road connects the hospital and office building. Phoenix-based Schuff Steel erected the 250-ft. long bridge between the hospital and medical office.

Suntec Concrete is tilting 57-ft.panels on the five-story office project, which is being developed by the Plaza Companies and Butler Design Group is the architect. Both are Phoenix firms

Starting Backwards

Designers from Seattle-based NBBJ literally designed the hospital project backwards, starting on the last planned expansion and working forward to the first phase. The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership was the local partner on the project.

"Quite a bit of thought has gone into the design," said Christian Carlson, a principal and architect with NBBJ. "The public interface stays consistent throughout the future phases, and the subsequent growth happens away from the front door so the construction and confusion are held away from the main entrance."

Carlson said he took inspiration for the materials from the desert and its intense light and harsh contrasts.

On the south side of the nurse's tower, a six-story curtain wall allows plenty of natural light, with metal screens providing shade. Carlson said the metal shades would cut the summer sun, while allowing more heat loading in the winter months.

The nurse's tower is faced on the east and west sides with 20-gauge copper cladding, with crews installing 61,000 lbs. of copper sheeting. Each side features structurally integral vertical shading that gives the appearance of fish gills.

The copper cladding is gapped between the cladding and metal studs, allowing hot air behind the copper skin to flow up and out through vents on top of the building.

A Need for Versatility

Flexibility was a key issue for the owner, designers and contractors. In the steel-framed hospital tower, all of the utilitiy cores are located on either end of the floor plate, rather than in a central core.

"We chose steel moment frames because of the need for flexibility and open space," Carlson said. "Hospitals are almost designed like a spec office building, with a lot of space between spans so the departments can be reconfigured or even replaced."

Phoenix-based Schuff Steel provided the steel, while S Diamond Steel Inc. of Glendale, Ariz., erected the miscellaneous metals. Crews erected more than 3,300 tons of steel on the project.

Nearly 25,000 -cu.yds. of concrete are used in the structure. DPR self-perfomred the concrete work.

The nursing tower, with six floors aboveground and one below grade, sits on 60 drilled friction piers 30- ft. deep and ranging from a 24-in. to 60 -in. in diameter. The hospital, which also includes a two-story diagnostic and treatment building, is connected to the central plant by a 300-ft. underground tunnel.

The tunnel contains stub-outs for future expansion, as well as providing a link between the hospital and loading dock. Cannon and Wendt of Phoenix installed the project's electrical service, which includes eight substations in the basement. Two diesel-fired emergency generators provide backup power, and a third, gasoline- powered generator functions as a peak- load generator and third back up generator.

"We provided them with a way to be more energy efficient," said Jackie Bolin, project manager with Syska Hennesy Group of Los Angeles, the MEP engineers on the project. "The gas generator acts like a co- generation plant, so when electricity costs are high, you can switch on the gas and produce electricity. Then we use the heat from the generator's water jacket to preheat the boiler water."

Designers also conserved materials and space by using a high- temperature, high- pressure hot water system rather than steam lines, which require bigger pipes because of expansion. The project features three chillers and two boilers.

University Mechanical of Tempe installed the mechanical systems and also oversaw all the mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

In the operating rooms, designers had to pay attention to the need for more imaging equipment. As surgery becomes less invasive, the operating rooms incorporate both surgery and imaging into one package.

The project features 12 intensive -care beds and 24 acute- care beds in the emergency room. There are eight surgical suites, along with a labor and delivery center.

As with any hospital, the main goal is healing, but designers wanted to push the conventional boundaries by inviting visitors and patients to become more aware of their surroundings and more reflective on life. Clever tricks such as the play of lighting throughout the seasons help mark the passage of time. Each patient room also features a window, so patients don't feel cut off from the world.

Designers looked to the natural forms of Arizona and created a "healing canyon" between the nurse tower and the diagnosis and testing building. The "canyon" evokes Arizona's canyons, where signs of life may be hidden to the casual observer.

"We wanted to create a place that stimulates awareness and invites people to pay a closer attention to their environment," Carlson said. "Unlike a shopping mall, hotel or office, the kind of life changes that happen to people in a hospital cause people to look at their lives. We wanted to encourage that."

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