Verstandig Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Washington, D.C.

BEST PROJECT

KEY PLAYERS

Submitted by: Clark Construction

Owner: MedStar Health

Lead Design Firm and Architect of Record: HKS/Shalom Baranes Associates JV
General Contractor: Clark Construction Group

The nearly six-year, $519-million project is Washington, D.C.’s largest-ever health care job. It required surgical precision to integrate the six-story, 475,000-sq-ft surgical pavilion and 310,000-sq-ft, three-level underground parking garage into a congested, complex site immediately adjacent to an active hospital, university buildings and residential neighborhoods. Before construction, the team relocated more than 17,000 ft of known utilities outside the building footprint without disrupting service. The internally braced support-of-excavation installation included more than 1,000 piles. Because test pits revealed nearly 300 unexpected subsurface obstructions requiring removal prior to construction, BIM helped revise and resequence the plan.

The team also worked around a 96-in. by 108-in.-dia sewer traversing the center of the site. Because the sewer could not bear weight, caissons were added to the design to support the new pavilion over the existing infrastructure. To address previous damage to the line, the team excavated four access pits that allowed sections of the sewer to be suspended. A temporary utility bridge spanning the excavation carried steam, chilled water and electrical services to the existing hospital.

Photo courtesy Clark Construction

The utilities were installed on prefabricated racks hung from 55-ft-long steel beams. Three pedestrian and vehicular bridges constructed over the excavation helped maintain access to the hospital and university throughout construction, with extensive overhead netting providing an extra safeguard from falling items. An onsite concrete batch plant minimized truck traffic, and prefabricated building elements further reduced the onsite workforce and staging and laydown requirements.

Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the building replaces outdated 50-year-old facilities to bring the hospital up to current operating room standards. It also doubled the size of the emergency department for enhanced patient service. Focused on transplants, orthopedics and neuroscience, the spacious operating rooms give surgeons high-resolution visualization for robotic and minimally invasive surgical procedures.