bnr-Western Memorial Regional Hospital
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Western Memorial Regional Hospital

Innovative lightweight design developed in response to a remote location.

Location

  • Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Architect

  • B+H Architects and Parkin Architects

Project status

  • Complete

The Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Newfoundland and Labrador brings together a number of disparate health facilities on the western side of the province. The new hub is a seven-storey, 164-bed facility that includes an expanded cancer care ward with radiation services.

WSP developed an innovative design that helped Corner Brook Acute Care Partnership win its bid to design, build, finance and maintain the hospital. Hospitals elsewhere in Canada often use concrete for their structure, but here steel made sense as it needed to be erected quickly to meet a tight schedule and the number of formwork contractors in the province is limited. Materials also had to be kept light for ease of shipping. To make the design as lean as possible, we used high-strength steel decks to cut down on the number of supporting beams. 

Constructing this major hospital on an island meant overcoming several technical challenges. Wind was the driving condition, the structural materials and erection needed to consider the logistical challenges with shipping, so our design had to be as efficient as possible.

Our design also needed to withstand snowy and windy conditions. As well as responding to local guidelines, we undertook a study to examine the loads that snowfall might place on the structure. Since these values turned out to be lower than had been assumed, this allowed us to make savings in materials and cost.

Vibration analysis was conducted on areas with sensitive equipment such as MRI and CT scanners, and these were reinforced with additional mass and thicker floors. The cancer care bunker needed specialist shielding to protect the wider site from radiation. We collaborated with a physicist to develop a bespoke system of large, thick steel plates embedded in the concrete wall.

We were also able to call on the knowledge of our materials expert in Vancouver to help the contractor resolve problems with the concrete – an example of our teams working together for the benefit of our clients.

Other challenges that we have overcome