by Shane Henson — September 5, 2011—McCarthy Building Companies Inc., one of America’s premier hospital building contractors, has been chosen to construct the $300 million Torrance Memorial Medical Center Replacement Tower on the existing medical center site in Torrance, California. The facility will be built to standards required for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver-certified structure.
The project entails construction of a seven-level, 398,350-square-foot patient tower as well as a basement to house a central utility plant and a tunnel connecting the existing hospital to the new facility. Twelve new elevator systems and two exit stairs will be installed, and a 2,770-square-foot emergency generator building along with underground fuel oil storage tanks will be constructed on site.
Facilities personnel and others working in the new tower will likely be impressed not only by the building’s aesthetics, but by the way it manages energy, minimizes its environmental footprint, and provides user comfort as a result of the sustainability-minded way it was designed.
Some of the facility’s eco-sensitive design features include: minimizing environmental impacts by incorporating optimal building orientation to reduce solar heat gain; individual temperature controls to reduce energy; white roof to minimize heat gain; low-level perimeter building lighting to reduce light pollution; recycled content and environmentally friendly finishes; as well as the use of water-efficient landscaping and a healing garden to reduce the “heat island effect” from excessive use of hardscape. McCarthy will also use sustainable construction methods, including recycling approximately 80 percent of construction waste; maintaining proper indoor air quality; and utilizing local labor.
The project is expected to be completed by November 2014.
