The Atrium that will serve as a front door to the new OU Children’s Physicians building and Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center is more than just another beautiful building, integrating the beauty of nature into its design. It has also been designed with our environment in mind.
“When we began envisioning what this project should be, we knew we wanted to create a structure that would be unique and iconic; but we also knew that to bring vision to life, we would whenever possible need to integrate sustainable design principles into the design in order to minimize energy costs after the project was completed,” said Jorge Charneco of Miles Associates.
Sustainable design is a term used to describe environmentally-conscious design techniques – techniques that seek to maximize energy efficiency and minimize the negative impact of buildings on the environment.
“From the start, we worked to develop key elements into the design of this project that are energy efficient,” Charneco said. “It starts with various aspects of the design itself like the orientation of the structure and extends to the various materials selected for use throughout the project, as well as the cooling and ventilation systems.”
Key sustainable design principles for the Atrium include:
Orienting the atrium so the majority of the day’s sunlight is harvested from a southern-facing glass curtain wall, thereby significantly reducing the use of electrical lights during the day. In addition, all necessary lighting will be controlled by daylight sensors and all light sources will be energy efficient.
A white ceramic frit applied to the exterior glass will reduce the amount of direct sunlight and glare that enters the building. Low-emissivity (low-e) coating will also be applied to the glass. Both features will help significantly reduce ultraviolet radiation and temperatures in the summer, ultimately reducing cooling costs.
Design of a 65 foot porte-cochere to help shade the entrance to the atrium and counteract the lower setting sun in the west. These factors will help reduce summertime temperatures inside the building, yet allow ambient light to enter.
A portion of the Atrium is designed with a green roof with insulation properties that reduce energy costs.
Air Side Economizers, mechanical devices intended to reduce energy consumption, will be used to take advantage of free cooling, utilizing outside air within appropriate temperature ranges as a way to cool the indoor space.
Displacement ventilation will be used to displace warmer room air and create a zone of fresh cool air at the occupied level.
The Art of Design
Selected Works to Play Integral Role in New Facility
Top artists across Oklahoma and the nation have been invited to submit proposals to create permanent works of art for several prominent locations at the new Atrium, which will serve as a gateway for patients, families and visitors making their way to their physician’s office and the hospital.
Architects have created several distinct areas to showcase art in the overall design of the Atrium project – an exterior sculpture in the entrance plaza, an abstract sculpture in the Atrium lobby and an overhead hanging/kinetic art element at the stair that leads from ground level to the upper levels of the Atrium.
“Nature has been an overarching theme for the Atrium environment, so we are looking for artists and designs that will compliment the natural light and calming décor of the space,” said Dean Gandy, executive director of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust.
Submissions could include sculpture, mosaic, water and landscaping elements, unique or alternative art media or any combination appropriate to the site and overall project.
The Art Selection Committee welcomed submissions from 49 artists. Finalists will be selected this month to prepare formal presentations for the committee. The final selection is expected to be made in mid-December.
Proton Therapy Update
It’s hard for many of us to remember the day when a single computer filled an entire building. Today, the computations done by those massive computers of yesteryear can be managed by systems that fit in the palm of the hand. Recent advances are doing the same for Proton Therapy; and the OU Cancer Institute and its patients will be the beneficiaries of these advances.
“We are proud to help ensure that a highly effective and cost-efficient proton beam radiotherapy system is available to cancer patients in our state,” said Mike Samis, chairman of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust.
Proton therapy uses an external beam directed at a specific tumor site. However, it offers distinct advantages over conventional X-ray radiotherapy. While both relay on radiation to damage cancerous cells and halt the spread of the cancer, protons can be focused to deliver most of their energy at the specified depth of the tumor, improving the likelihood of success and reducing the risk of damaging healthy tissue surrounding a tumor.
The therapy has been around since the 50s, but has not been widely available due to the size and cost of the equipment required. In fact, with implementation costs exceeding $100 million, only 20 or so proton therapy centers have opened in the entire world.
Enter Still River Systems’ new design on proton beam radiotherapy. The Massachusetts company set out on a mission to create smaller, more affordable proton sources that fit in a treatment room. Using state of the art engineering techniques and materials, Still River Systems has created a proton beam radiotherapy system built around a compact, superconducting high field magnet which directs a proton beam toward a precisely defined target inside the body.
“We are excited about the addition of this technology to the OU Cancer Institute,” said Dr. Robert Mannel, director of the Institute. “It further enhances the benefit to patients of a Comprehensive Cancer Center like ours by providing them access to the widest array of cancer treatment technologies and therapies in a single location. This allows our multidisciplinary team of specialists to choose the best treatment or combination of treatments for each patient right here in one place.”
The Still River Systems’ design is not only smaller, it is patient-friendly and designed for ease-of-use for the OU Cancer Institute specialists who will operate the system.
Topping Out Ceremony
New OU Children’s Physicians Building
A crane lifted a tree skyward and placed it atop the new OU Children’s Physicians building, marking a milestone in the construction project.
The event earlier this year was attended by many members of the construction team, who were honored for their work. Physicians, staff and local dignitaries also turned out in number for the event, which attracted news reporters and photographers from local television stations, KTOK radio and the Oklahoman.
The seven-foot evergreen was placed on the roof of the new building under construction at corner of NE 13th and Phillips at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in a topping out ceremony, signifying the project had reached its highest level.
When completed in 2009, the project will create the state’s first freestanding, pediatric multi-specialty physicians building in Oklahoma, providing state-of-the-art medical office space for more than 100 pediatric specialists with OU Children’s Physicians.
“It is rewarding to see this dream becoming a reality for hundreds of specialists who provide advanced care to the children of Oklahoma,” said Dean Gandy, executive director of the University Hospitals Trust, which is funding the project with assistance from supporters of children’s health in Oklahoma. “This building will expand, update and improve the facilities available to Oklahoma’s youngest patients and their families, as well as to OU physicians, scientists and staff involved in pediatric health care in our state.”
The building is part of an overall $115 million project, which includes:
The 336,000 square foot, 14-story medical office building
A six-story, glass atrium, which will serve as an entrance to the medical office building and a new front door for Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center
A three-level parking structure, providing 900 new spaces
A cutting-edge education and conference center to support the needs of the OUHSC campus
“This new building moves our campus and especially our college of medicine and its physicians to another level of excellence,” said Joseph Ferretti, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost of the OU Health Sciences Center.
“We are thrilled with this project,” said Terrence Stull, MD, chair of the OU Department of Pediatrics. “From the start, this building has been designed with the needs of our patients, their families, our physicians and researchers in mind. It provides a space where world-class care will be provided in a world-class facility.”
The placement of the tree at the top of the building kept with a tradition that began more than 1,000 years ago in Europe. In the last century, the placement of a tree at the top of a construction project has become a tradition signifying growth and that the building has reached its highest level of construction.
