Sarah Cannon Cancer Hospital

Sarah Cannon Cancer Hospital is the world’s first hospital to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED v4 Gold certification—a milestone achievement. WSP provided mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering, as well as construction administration services for the new ICU building.

Valued at US$110 million, the 138,000 sq. ft. facility on the Medical City Plano campus has 90 patient beds, in addition to operating/recovery rooms. The design team faced three major challenges: reducing the overall budget and construction time by 10%; using pre-fabricated components as much as possible; and completing the commissioning of all building systems and spaces prior to the opening.

WSP’s team designed the cooling and heating systems to be over 21% more efficient than the baseline, with other ground-breaking energy efficiency features potentially leading to major cost savings. Noise mitigation solutions were provided for the cooling towers and generators.

Overall, more than 95% of the construction waste was recycled or reused and diverted from landfill disposal. Throughout the project, additional materials and finishes were selected on the basis of sustainability, including responsible sourcing, life-cycle effectiveness and use of healthier, low-emitting materials for improved indoor air quality.

This remarkable LEED project serves as a template for other WSP medical tower projects.