Orlando Health’s Jewett Orthopedic Institute is the first orthopedic hospital in Florida and the first hospital of its kind in the Southeast: a 375,000-sq-ft inpatient orthopedic hospital with 75 beds, 10 operating rooms and a 10-station bioskills lab for research and education.

The design blends architectural aesthetics with high-functioning medical spaces, the project team says, setting a benchmark in Florida and beyond. Connecting to two other campus facilities via elevated bridges, the center utilizes a mix of glass, metal and fiber cement panels.

The complex facade features numerous material transitions and angled textures, and Skanska led multiple coordination meetings with trade partners and the Page design team to ensure a complete understanding of every aspect of the facade, including each flashing detail and condition.

Photo by Chad Baumer Photography

Pre-installation meetings were held weekly to review products and details essential to that week’s work, resulting in a tight and pristine building designed to promote efficiency, physician training and well-being.

The firm also invested extra resources into an already tight labor market exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure installers were confident about each aspect of the facade.

Multiple features in the hospital work toward the goal of physician training, like the seventh-floor bioskills lab that connects virtually to operating suites, allowing surgeons around the world to view surgical procedures.

At peak, 600 workers were on site to construct the center. And working closely with local authorities, the project team completed more than 2,500 successful inspections conducted by Skanska, trade partners and others, including the city of Orlando.

Photo by Chad Baumer Photography

The team worked with building officials to establish a new technology-enabled inspection process for Orlando that was specific to the project. Floor plans were color-coded to identify completed areas, and plans were made available to inspectors electronically via ProCore.

The coordination began before ground broke on the project, with a kick-off meeting hosted by the project superintendent that gave inspectors and other authorities the opportunity to share pet peeves and problem items they see projects fail on repeatedly. Those items were shared with trade partners in detail.

Skanska’s work is spreading beyond this project, too, as the firm has shared proprietary QA/QC checklists with the city that have since been adopted into its MEP and fire inspector training manuals.

The project, described in the contest submission as a “striking mix of glass, metal and Takti fiber cement panels occupying a prominent corner of Orlando Health’s downtown campus,” was completed on time and at budget in August 2023 after starting work in November 2020.

It has been piling up awards, including the Golden Brick Award from the Downtown Orlando Partnership and an Honorable Mention in the 2022 American Architecture Awards. Skanska’s project team was also recognized with the Diversity Champion Award by the National Association of Minority Contractors for diversity efforts on the project.