Opening last month, the 5400-m2 (58,125-sf) addition and renovation to St. Mary’s community hospital (Sechelt, B.C.) boasts new services and energy-efficient features.
The $44-million project was designed by Perkins+Will and Farrow Partnership Architects, targeting Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. An additional design goal was for St. Mary’s to become a carbon-neutral hospital.
In addition to a high-performing building envelope, the expansion project includes 125 boreholes—each 76.2-m (250-ft) deep. They provide a zero-carbon energy source to heat and cool the building. Further, additional daylighting in the main entrance and through large windows in patient rooms reduce reliance on electrical systems.
The West Coast Sechelt Indian Band played a role in the design inspiration for the project, Farrow Partnership Architects’ Tye Farrow explained.
“The design team set out to reflect indigenous themes and take advantage of the site’s natural beauty,” he said. “Our team took inspiration from the cedar bent-box, unique to the coastal First Nations.”
Additionally, three totem poles carved by the band will be displayed outside of the hospital’s main entrance.
The redevelopment and expansion will more than double the facility’s size to 11,500 m2 (123,784 sf). Further areas of the hospital receiving improvements and additions include:
- emergency and radiology departments;
- two additional floors of single-occupancy rooms;
- new labour and delivery unit;
- onsite gardens;
- special care unit;
- improved infection control and isolation ability;
- surgical day care; and
- diagnostic imaging department.
The original hospital was built in 1963 and the renovation project began in April 2010. The final phase of the hospital’s renovations is set to be completed next spring. It will include the addition of an ambulatory care unit and a mental health unit.
