VCU news

By Eric Peters

Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, HKS Architects, Jones Lang LaSalle and the W.M. Jordan Co. were honored this week at the 2012 International Conference and Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design and Construction with a VISTA award from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and the American Hospital Association (AHA).  

The VISTA Award, which recognizes teamwork in the design and construction of the healthcare environment, honors teams that have worked together to develop and maintain safe, quality healthcare settings, demonstrating effective and efficient communication and relying on data-based decision-making processes.

Critical Care hospital was completed ahead of schedule and under budget in 2008. Its 232 rooms on 15 levels make up Central Virginia’s only Level I trauma center.

“The fast-track schedule required the team to strategize from several vantage points early in design,” said Leslie Hanson, principal managing director of HKS Richmond. “While the architectural team generated design concepts with departmental users’ input, the construction manager developed demolition logistics for removing a generator building and electrical switchgear and installing vibration calibration devices on surrounding historical structures.”

Highlights of the innovative construction process include the erection of a bridge to relieve traffic and enhance safety measures within the tight historic urban campus; extensive infection control, noise mitigation and air filtration to protect patients and staff in adjoining buildings; and a classically designed exterior that highlights the hospital’s historic surroundings.

Enhanced communication among nurses, executive leadership and the entire architecture-engineering-construction-health care team was prevalent throughout the project’s process.