Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre - Halifax, N.S.

Consulting engineers work with a variety of products, from computer aided design and drafting software to concrete slabs. These products often support other practices and professions where subtlety and a new kind of precision are essential. In the field of medicine and patient care, such as with the new Halifax Infirmary, vibration sensitive hospital equipment must have solid support. The structure must be robust and meet the stringent requirements imposed by a hospital. To be confident these requirements, and others, would be met, the client relied on BMR.

The new Halifax Infirmary is an enormous 770,000 square foot structure. It consists of nine storeys and several links and tunnels connecting the new structure to the existing buildings in the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre complex. There is a large mechanical penthouse on the main roof and several smaller mechanical penthouses on the intermediate roofs. These provide the necessary space for the demanding requirements of the mechanical systems in a world class hospital.

The structural framing system consists of a combination of two-way slabs and one-way slabs supported on beams, all of cast-in-place reinforced concrete. Structural steel was used to frame the mechanical penthouse roofs. The central auditorium, located on the lowest level, made long clear spans necessary to the design. The large underground parking area, also located on the lowest level, made column location critical. The underground connecting links are tunnels constructed of cast-in-place reinforced concrete, while the above ground links have structural steel frames. Two interconnected elevator cores and concrete walls in the outer stairwells comprise the lateral load resisting system of the building. The project was built using phased construction. The structure was complete prior to final detailed design of the architectural layout and the mechanical and electrical systems. This demanded the structural design be flexible, anticipating additional openings through floors, roofs, and walls that would be required for mechanical and electrical services.

BMR has carried out work on approximately 20 hospitals throughout Nova Scotia.