Energy-efficient hospital design

Enventure designed a modern hospital that consumes 10 percent less energy than a conventional hospital.

Streamlined processes help meet time, cost, and quality requirements.

The key challenge of setting up of a 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art hospital in the Middle East to deliver world-class medical services was not just providing a cost-efficient design but an energy-efficient design with optimum quality. The project required development of complete architectural detailing; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design; and construction drawings using BIM (Revit) and AutoCAD based on the conceptual sketches and structural drawings provided by the customer. Critical requirements were:

• complete the design within 2,000 hours with no/minimal revisions;
• design to build an energy-efficient hospital with at least 20 percent reduction in construction cost; and
• adhere strictly to Middle East building codes.

Enventure’s solution was to develop an optimal design of a modern hospital that consumes 10 percent less energy than a conventional hospital with no compromise in quality. Enventure set up an exclusive team of architects and mechanical and electrical engineers to provide innovative solutions and to design the hospital in a cost-effective way. To accelerate the process, its engineers used the following approaches:

Improve staff efficiency by minimizing distance traveled between frequently used spaces. Decentralizing supplies close to or inside a patient room allows nurses to spend more time with the patients and less time retrieving supplies. Even with supplies and often patient-specific medications distributed to the patient room, the shape, size, and configuration of the patient unit remain critical factors for the design of an efficient patient unit. It is still desirable to minimize the distance that staff needs to travel between the main support rooms, including the central staff work areas and the patient rooms. The geometries of the patient units and common facilities were designed considering the efficient movement of supplies, waste, and people.

Minimize energy consumption by using energy-efficient system components and adopting an innovative energy management system. The heating system is designed using room thermostats, thermostatic radiator valves, and insulated hot water tanks and boilers. Instead of chillers, Enventure introduced air handling units with a condensing unit. A gypsum false ceiling is used for all spaces except stores and utilities, reducing the cost of the false ceiling. Internal walls made of gypsum partitions reduce construction time and cost. A flat slab system is used to reduce the number of beams.

Conclusion

Project highlights include the following:

• successful execution and closure of the project within 1,600 hours with only one rework;
• construction costs reduced by 25 percent;
• construction documents approved in one go due to strict adherence to standards and codes; and
• delays and disputes avoided at the site because of better coordination and elimination of repetitive work.

The project seemed an extremely challenging endeavor at the beginning, but with streamlined processes and a smart approach, Enventure ensured that the project was completed within the expected timeline and met the customer’s quality requirements. Smooth delivery of the design documents enabled the customer to complete the construction on time.

Information provided by Enventure (www.enventure.com), an engineering company with a focus on building engineering, BIM, plant engineering, mechanical product design, environmental compliance, and component engineering.