Stories
Adding Specialized Outpatient Services for Central San Diego
UC San Diego Hillcrest Medical Campus Redevelopment Phase 1 | San Diego, California
The UC San Diego Health McGrath Outpatient Pavilion, part of the first phase of the UC San Diego Long-Range Development Plan, will be a six-story, 255,000-sq.-ft. advanced medical facility that houses key clinical programs, addressing the region's growing demand for specialized diagnostic, treatment and surgical services, including orthopedic care and infusion therapy for cancer treatment. The first phase of the redevelopment project also includes a new parking structure to provide approximately 1,850 spaces for employees, patients and visitors, as well as related road and utility infrastructure.
About the
Project
The project is located on a logistically and topographically complex site, above a maze of underground utilities. The site itself occupies a ravine that had a 75-ft. elevation change from one end to the other before work began. Besides being on an active hospital campus, adjacent to the Emergency Department driveway, the site is in the middle of a residential neighborhood with many one-way streets. Planning and coordination of deliveries and staff arrival have been critical.
Phase 1 will meet seismic standards and respond to the community's growing healthcare needs, while optimizing the limited space of the site. Modern facilities, including state-of-the-art technology for imaging and oncology, will be supplemented with a more streamlined patient experience. This includes patient access to the basement-level lobby via underground corridor from the 9-level parking garage across the street. UC San Diego Health anticipates accepting patients in summer 2025.
We will transform lives in the new Outpatient Pavilion—ranging from regular checkups for orthopedic care, to infusion therapy for cancer treatment.
Lisa Rhodes
Chief Administrative Officer, UC San Diego Health
Project
Innovations
Underground Utility Mapping
DPR had to account for several unknown existing utilities, as well as new utilities being installed, to serve the Outpatient Pavilion, parking structure, and central utility plant. Using a combination of as-builts and potholing, then laser-scanning all new pipe installations, our in-house VDC team modeled all existing and new utilities against the project's design and logistics plan.
Having a full 3D underground map of the site afforded the team better scheduling and site logistics, and also helped them make important changes to utility scopes and locations before they caused potential disruptions to campus. The team elected to shift the proposed storm drain line to within the project boundary, being a deeper and longer-duration scope than other lines. This choice avoided a potentially long-term closure of the Emergency Department’s main ambulance route.
Logistics Planning
The site is in an urban setting and on an active hospital campus with a 24-hour Level 1 trauma center, sitting on top of 60 years of underground utility additions. Logistics have required planning and coordination to ensure not only that construction runs smoothly, but that the nearby homes and living areas remain accessible and are minimally impacted by construction.
Using our expertise in preconstruction and virtual design and construction (VDC), DPR created a robust and thorough plan for the budget, site logistics and mapping of the project site, including all underground utilities. Access to the emergency room and trauma center were kept open through a complex series of road closures surrounding the site, which accommodated the movement of different trades and equipment, including concrete trucks and cranes.
Robotic Layout
The Dusty Robotics FieldPrinter or “Dusty” is a tool that automates field layout. Using a digital model, a single operator uses the robot to print layout lines and text on the floor. DPR is one of only a few firms nationwide that have certified in-house operators for the Dusty robot.
On the Outpatient Pavilion, the team partnered with DPR’s internal Field Technology group to model and coordinate walls and MEP systems with the help of our trade partners. From here, the team uploaded the coordinated BIM model to Dusty, which printed lines and labels for walls, soffits, and wall penetrations/block-outs. The tool significantly reduced the time and crew needs involved with performing manual layout.
Modular Elevators
The parking structure includes a bank of four of the tallest modular or prefabricated elevators ever installed. These units were fabricated in Illinois (cab, shaft, rails, machinery, and all) and shipped to the site in November, and were erected in one week.
Since the elevators were built on their sides in a controlled environment, the safety and quality concerns typically associated with a vertical shaft were avoided entirely. This approach also provided sequencing advantages and the potential to save considerable time at building turnover.
Self-Performing Highly Technical Work
Early design engagement of our self-perform team allowed DPR to mitigate several unique challenges on the project. DPR installed multiple Div. 07 scopes, including a fragile porcelain tile rainscreen system, porcelain panel substructure, continuous mineral wool insulation, and fluid-applied weather barrier assembly. While the large-format tiles were being transported from Italy to the fabrication facility in Houston, engineering and design coordination continued on the project.
Installing over 15,000 sq. ft. of porcelain rainscreen panels was a complex task, calling for special handling procedures on site, critical BIM coordination of MEPFS penetrations, and an intricate substructure with concealed fasteners. Each tile is approx. 85 sq. ft. and 238 lbs. with clips attached—requiring special erection aids for installation. DPR’s self-perform team was able to plan the installation before start of construction and accelerate the install schedule of the fragile tiles.
Project
Innovations
Underground Utility Mapping
DPR had to account for several unknown existing utilities, as well as new utilities being installed, to serve the Outpatient Pavilion, parking structure, and central utility plant. Using a combination of as-builts and potholing, then laser-scanning all new pipe installations, our in-house VDC team modeled all existing and new utilities against the project's design and logistics plan.
Having a full 3D underground map of the site afforded the team better scheduling and site logistics, and also helped them make important changes to utility scopes and locations before they caused potential disruptions to campus. The team elected to shift the proposed storm drain line to within the project boundary, being a deeper and longer-duration scope than other lines. This choice avoided a potentially long-term closure of the Emergency Department’s main ambulance route.
Logistics Planning
The site is in an urban setting and on an active hospital campus with a 24-hour Level 1 trauma center, sitting on top of 60 years of underground utility additions. Logistics have required planning and coordination to ensure not only that construction runs smoothly, but that the nearby homes and living areas remain accessible and are minimally impacted by construction.
Using our expertise in preconstruction and virtual design and construction (VDC), DPR created a robust and thorough plan for the budget, site logistics and mapping of the project site, including all underground utilities. Access to the emergency room and trauma center were kept open through a complex series of road closures surrounding the site, which accommodated the movement of different trades and equipment, including concrete trucks and cranes.
Robotic Layout
The Dusty Robotics FieldPrinter or “Dusty” is a tool that automates field layout. Using a digital model, a single operator uses the robot to print layout lines and text on the floor. DPR is one of only a few firms nationwide that have certified in-house operators for the Dusty robot.
On the Outpatient Pavilion, the team partnered with DPR’s internal Field Technology group to model and coordinate walls and MEP systems with the help of our trade partners. From here, the team uploaded the coordinated BIM model to Dusty, which printed lines and labels for walls, soffits, and wall penetrations/block-outs. The tool significantly reduced the time and crew needs involved with performing manual layout.
Modular Elevators
The parking structure includes a bank of four of the tallest modular or prefabricated elevators ever installed. These units were fabricated in Illinois (cab, shaft, rails, machinery, and all) and shipped to the site in November, and were erected in one week.
Since the elevators were built on their sides in a controlled environment, the safety and quality concerns typically associated with a vertical shaft were avoided entirely. This approach also provided sequencing advantages and the potential to save considerable time at building turnover.
Self-Performing Highly Technical Work
Early design engagement of our self-perform team allowed DPR to mitigate several unique challenges on the project. DPR installed multiple Div. 07 scopes, including a fragile porcelain tile rainscreen system, porcelain panel substructure, continuous mineral wool insulation, and fluid-applied weather barrier assembly. While the large-format tiles were being transported from Italy to the fabrication facility in Houston, engineering and design coordination continued on the project.
Installing over 15,000 sq. ft. of porcelain rainscreen panels was a complex task, calling for special handling procedures on site, critical BIM coordination of MEPFS penetrations, and an intricate substructure with concealed fasteners. Each tile is approx. 85 sq. ft. and 238 lbs. with clips attached—requiring special erection aids for installation. DPR’s self-perform team was able to plan the installation before start of construction and accelerate the install schedule of the fragile tiles.
Construction Reaches Halfway Point on Revamped UC San Diego Health
Hillcrest
With the first phase of UC San Diego Health's nearly $3 billion expansion to their Hillcrest campus halfway complete, CBS 8 News toured the site with UC San Diego Health's Lisa Rhodes and DPR's Ian Pyka.
Phase 1 Under Way on UC San Diego Health Hillcrest
Redevelopment
California Builder & Engineer spotlighted the Phase 1 project, exploring how our "One Team" approach has eliminated waste and built shared accountability.
McGrath Foundation Pledges $25 Million for Outpatient
Pavilion
The San Diego-based McGrath Family Foundation pledged $25 million to support the new Outpatient Pavilion, slated to open in 2025, as reported by the Times of San Diego.
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