Early involvement, team integration aid just-in-time approach for two projects for Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida

It’s not every day that you have a facility designed and constructed by women, for women, especially when the percent of women in the construction and architecture industries accounts for only 12% of the workforce (2014 US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

From DPR’s early involvement in preconstruction on the two-story, 45,800-sq.-ft. Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Health & Wellness Institute, it was clear that the 90% female team of architects, designers and owner’s representatives shared a vision for creating a facility with the patient in mind. With five unique women’s health service lines planned for the institute, each discipline’s professional and personal experiences informed the overall design of the project.

The patient-oriented approach resulted in a facility with abundant natural light, seamless patient flow and inviting clinical areas. Located on the Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s campus, adjacent to the former health and wellness institute, and designed by HKS Architects, the facility offers clinical, holistic and educational programs that support women’s unique medical needs.

“Our design drew upon a culmination of prior healthcare space planning and focuses on providing a calming and safe experience for women going through medical procedures,” said Tatiana Guimaraes, senior medical planner for HKS Architects. “All of the spaces are planned with sensitivity for privacy and comfort, much like the calming environment of a spa, versus a medical facility.”

Early engagement of the team and trade partners also helped in delivering cost savings back to the owner. But even the most collaborative projects see their own challenges. Seven months into the project, the schedule shifted from three phases to four to rework the construction of a new entrance to keep patient access of the adjacent parking lot operational for a longer period of time. Due to the constricted parking circumstances, the project team employed just-in-time deliveries. Only materials and equipment installed within three days were delivered. This sequencing allowed the project team to keep the project on track despite the additional phase and deliver the facility on time for its fall 2015 opening.

With the Women’s Health & Wellness Institute open and operational, the contractor-led design-build team of DPR and HKS continues work on a second project with Boca Raton Regional Hospital: The Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute. Building on lessons learned, the team was selected due to its strategies for speed to market and a cost benefit analysis identifying a three-month schedule benefit through a design-build partnership, compared to a GMP selection. Today, the team continues progress on the 33,280-sq.-ft. multi-phased renovation and addition, working toward a January 2017 scheduled completion date.