healthcare
MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING
Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA
AEC, Inc. is providing structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering for this new three-story, 15,000 square foot medical office building, slated for completion in late 2019.
Designed by Blackney / Hayes Architects, the building will feature physician offices, reception and file rooms, patient waiting lounge, examination rooms, X-ray space, and physical therapy / gym on the 3rd floor.
The structural system is steel framed with concrete composite floor design. The exterior and will be clad in brick veneer with metal stud back-up.
The MEP systems include a high-efficiency VRF HVAC system, as well as a DOAS (Dedicated Outdoor Air System) to provide ventilation. The building will be 100% backed up by an emergency generator. A high-efficiency central domestic water plant will feed the building.
FALLS CENTER
Tulip Special Care
Falls Center was originally known as Women’s Medical College when it opened its doors in 1929. Located at 3300 Henry Avenue in Philadelphia, the building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
AEC, Inc. teamed with Wulff Architects to gut and fit-out a 20,000 square foot space, creating a new long-term nursing and ventilator-dependent care unit. The new space features 60 patient rooms, staff stations, administrative offices, activities areas, a classroom and dining area.
New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were designed, including new high-efficiency water source heat pumps connected to a central plant. The engineering design included a 3,000-gallon bulk oxygen system (shown at left) which is piped into the space. Each heat pump serves multiple rooms. All new electrical power and low voltage systems, including nurse’s call, security, telephone and data were installed. New central domestic hot water heating was also added
ST. MARY MEDICAL CENTER
Emergency Department Addition and Renovation
AEC, Inc. provided all civil, structural, MEP and FP engineering requirements for a new emergency department addition and phased renovation at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
This project consisted of a 12,000 square foot single level north addition designed for two future floors and a 16,000 square foot south addition, also designed for one future floor. The south addition included an 8,000 square foot mechanical and electrical basement, a large entrance canopy, and a new 1,500 square foot CT Suite. To make room for this new main emergency department entrance, the entire adjoining site was redesigned. This design included the relocation of the campus loop road and the helipad, the relocation of adjacent parking and all necessary utility additions and relocation.
The new mechanical and electrical room accommodated all new air handling equipment, new normal and emergency power distribution equipment and all steam and plumbing requirements. This room was fed underground from the new upgraded central plant with steam and pumped condensate return, chilled water supply and return and normal and emergency power. All new services were sized to accommodate the out-patient care facility at a future time. A new emergency drop-off was created within an existing parking garage which also included valet parking for drive up emergency patients.
This phased project was designed to construct the two new additions first, then the existing emergency department renovations would be completed in two phases once the additions were occupied.
FALLS CENTER
Acute Pediatrics
AEC, Inc. teamed with Axis Construction and Morrissey Design LLC to ‘Design / Build’ the renovation of the third and fourth floors in one of the buildings located on the Falls Center Campus at 3300 Henry Avenue in Philadelphia, PA. Falls Center was originally known as the ‘Women’s Medical College’ when it opened its doors in 1929. It is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This renovated space encompassed 15,625 square feet on the third floor and 19,875 square feet on the fourth floor. The existing space was completely gutted. New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were design to accommodate patient rooms, 18 on the third floor and 20 on the fourth floor, staff stations, administration offices, activities areas, a classroom and a dining area.
The new mechanical system consists of a new roof top unit which feeds multiple water source heat pumps. Each heat pump serves multiple rooms. All new sanitary piping was installed and tied into the main riser for the building. All new electrical power and low voltage systems, including nurse’s call, security, telephone and data were installed.
ST. MARY MEDICAL CENTER
Surgery Department Renovation
AEC, Inc. provided civil, structural, MEP and FP engineering for the total renovation and addition to the 55,000 square foot surgery department at the Langhorne, Pennsylvania campus. This four-phase project consisted of a new south facing service corridor addition and a large new mechanical room addition. The first phase of this project included the construction of a new hybrid and a new special OR suite. These two new facilities were designed to relieve some patient loads on existing operating rooms during relocation and replacement.
A UPS system was added in the basement below the new hybrid OR, allowing the surgeons to complete a procedure without power interruption while transitioning to the emergency generators picking up the load. The mechanical room addition houses two of three new large air handlers which were designed to provide conditioning requirements for this renovation project. AEC designed the third air handler to fit into an existing roof top penthouse and added a large supply and return shaft vertically through two existing floors of the hospital. All distribution duct work in the OR ceiling was replaced with new systems fed from each new air handler as the phases were constructed.
The central plant was increased to help serve the three new air handlers. Also replaced in phases was the electrical distribution, the IT requirements and all medical air, gas and vacuum requirements. In addition, a new oxygen system was installed and changed over in phases. The original oxygen tanks were relocated, re-piped and up-sized as part of this renovation project. Once completed all original air handlers were removed from two major basement mechanical rooms. This allows for the replacement of the central hot water generation system, two new steam distribution stations and open spaces for better servicing requirements for the facility management staff.
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
AEC, Inc. has served as Engineer of Record for several assisted living facilities, beginning in the early 1990’s with Beaumont at Bryn Mawr and more recently with Lambertville Seniors Center.
Structure for the living areas usually consists of wood frames and wall bearing supports. The nursing wings are similar with steel supports at each central nurse’s station to open the area up for visual observation. The main core structure is typically steel framed, which lends itself to flexibility for different amenity requirements, such as dining areas, kitchens, shops, theaters and other open spaces such as lobbies and lounges.
Like the structure, the mechanical systems have been broken down into the same three different areas. The living spaces have individual systems for each unit with all connecting spaces conditioned by individual roof top units. The nursing wings are conditioned by a VAV system supplied by a roof top, which is powered through a VFD that allows it to ramp up and down depending on the VAV space requirements. If the wing is large enough it can be segregated by units that help to isolate the different use areas for energy cost savings in heating and cooling requirements.
A more economical solution in the nursing wings would consist of individual through wall room units while the common spaces would be supplied by a single roof top unit. The VAV air system lends itself to more of a central control for ease of operation and maintenance. The core facility is normally conditioned by multiple roof top units. Each different type of large area would be supplied by its own unit while a number of smaller spaces would be put together and supplied by one unit with averaging thermostat control rather than individual controls.
The following is a partial list of representative projects engineered by AEC, Inc.:
Immaculate Mary Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care, Philadelphia, PA
St. Martha Manor, Downingtown, PA
St. John Neuman Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care, Philadelphia, PA
Paul’s Run, Philadelphia, PA
Hills at Rivington, Danbury, CT
Reserve at Danbury, Danbury, CT
Kentshire, Midland Park, NJ
Englewood, Englewood, NJ
Lambertville Seniors, Lambertville, NJ
Thomas Town Senior Living, Mine Hill, NJ
Stonington, Stonington, CT
Renfrew, Philadelphia, PA
PA Towers (5 separate facilities), PA
New Covenant Senior Center, Philadelphia, PA
New Seasons, Exton, PA
Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, Bryn Mawr, PA