On October 15, a joint venture comprised of the general contractors Clark Construction and JR Abbott Construction ceremonially broke ground for the new Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at the University of Washington’s Medical Center-Northwest campus in Seattle.
The six-story 184,000-sf facility, designed by SRG Partnership, is scheduled to open to residents in December 2023, according to the Seattle Times. Funded through $234 million in state appropriation, the facility is being built adjacent to the campus’s main hospital wing.
According to the University, the new building will have a 150-bed capacity, with 75 long-term civil commitment beds, 25 geropsychiatric beds, and 50 licensed med-surgery beds with the capacity to treat patients with psychiatric diagnoses and/or substance use disorders. Its top three floors will feature highly flexible inpatient units designed to respond to client needs from highly structured programs to programs that promote independent functioning and a transition to the community.
TELEPSYCHIATRY SERVICES A KEY COMPONENT
The project team and the University are calling this building one of a kind, in that it will provide a fully integrated and welcoming healing environment for patients struggling with physical and behavioral health problems. The building will include a procedural area for electroconvulsive therapy, and neuromodulation where patients can be treated with brain simulation therapy.
Also see: California University of Science and Medicine’s new School of Medicine
Brett Earnest, Clark’s Senior Vice President, says his firm has been working with the university for nearly two years to develop the facility, which when completed will serve as the home for the statewide 24/7 telepsychiatry consultation program and an interdisciplinary training and workforce development program focused on preparing and supporting the next generation of behavioral health providers for Washington State.
The Building Team is working under an Integrated Project Delivery contract. Its members include KPFF Consulting Engineers, Thornton Tomasetti, Ricca Design Studios, OJB Landscape Architecture, Mazzetti, PAE Engineers, McKinstry, VECA Electric, Schuff Steel, Performance Contracting Inc., and Queen City.
RECONNECTING MIND AND BODY
The Seattle Times reports that patients will have access to terraces and decks, sleep in secured private bedrooms, and meet with physicians and other staff in spacious treatment areas. Terracotta tiles will flank the building’s outer structure. Common spaces will feature calming muted colors. Outdoor benches will be crafted from reclaimed trees. The first floor of the building will house a public dining hall for staff and visitors.
Carl Hampson, SRG’s Design Principal, told the newspaper that choices for materials and fixtures were prioritized based on patient safety criteria. The building’s design, created in collaboration with our clinical stakeholders, will promote healing and well-being, “reinforcing the connection between mind and body,” Hampson said.
Related Stories
| Sep 26, 2011
Energy efficient LED flat panels installed at N.Y. metro hospitals
LED Flat Panels deliver fully dimmable, energy efficient high quality lighting with even, shadow-free distribution, and excellent 85 Color Rendering Index.
| Sep 20, 2011
Francis Cauffman wins two IDA design awards
The PA/NJ/DE Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) has presented the Francis Cauffman architecture firm with two awards: the Best Interior Design of 2011 for the W. L. Gore offices in Elkton, MD, and the President’s Choice Award for St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, NJ.
| Sep 12, 2011
Living Buildings: Are AEC Firms up to the Challenge?
Modular Architecture > You’ve done a LEED Gold or two, maybe even a LEED Platinum. But are you and your firm ready to take on the Living Building Challenge? Think twice before you say yes.
| May 18, 2011
New center provides home to medical specialties
Construction has begun on the 150,000-sf Medical Arts Pavilion at the University Medical Center in Princeton, N.J.
| May 5, 2011
Hospitals launch quiet campaigns to drown out noise of modern medicine
Worldwide, sound levels inside hospitals average 72 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night, which far exceeds the standard of 40 decibels or less, set by the World Health Organization. The culprit: modern medicine. In response, hospitals throughout Illinois and the U.S. are launching "quiet campaigns" that include eliminating intercom paging, replacing metal trash cans, installing sound-absorbing flooring and paneling, and dimming lights at night to remind staff to keep their voices down.
| Apr 14, 2011
USGBC debuts LEED for Healthcare
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduces its latest green building rating system, LEED for Healthcare. The rating system guides the design and construction of both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, medical offices, assisted living facilities and medical education and research centers.
| Apr 13, 2011
Virginia hospital’s prescription for green construction: LEED Gold
Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., is the commonwealth’s first inpatient healthcare facility to earn LEED Gold. The 630,000-sf facility was designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with commissioning consultant SSRCx, both of Nashville.
