Valleywise Health Medical Center

Phoenix

Award of Merit

Submitted by: Kitchell

Owner: Valleywise Health

Lead Design Firm: Cuningham

General Contractor: Kitchell

Civil Engineer: Dibble

Structural Engineer: Caruso Turley Scott Inc.

MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc.

Architect: Page


A $347.5-million advanced public teaching hospital will enhance patient care in Phoenix. This replacement for a 50-year-old facility features a 10-story, 673,000-sq-ft tower and a six-story, 106,088-sq-ft support building constructed on either side of an operating hospital. Delivered on time in April 2024, the facility included a new central utility plant and extensive underground utilities to support both these buildings and future expansions.

Early release of specific work scopes—including eight GMPs within 26 months—enabled a swift construction start while design was underway. As a result, structural steel for the 10-story tower was nearly topped out by the time final interiors were designed, accelerating the schedule by more than 12 months.

Working on a fully operational hospital campus also required meticulous site investigation, extensive 3D modeling of utilities, sequencing and massive coordination. The $21-million utility re-feeding scope included sanitary and storm main upgrades and a revised power distribution design that saved more than $1 million in conduit and conductor costs.

With construction outpacing design, VDC technology played a key role in defining and visualizing concrete placement sequencing. A coordinated schedule provided critical dates, which allowed for owner and design team input on slab openings without delaying the fast-tracked construction schedule.