Bay of Islands Hospital Redevelopment - Stage 1

Completed in 2018, the Bay of Islands Hospital Redevelopment (Stage 1) project provided a much-needed capacity increase in the level of care and modernisation of the facilities to suitably service the Bay of Islands communities.

The Hospital redevelopment provided a much-needed modernisation of the facilities and capacity increase for acute care to the people in the Bay of Islands and the mid-north. WSP provided Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Hydraulic, Seismic Restraint, Security, Fire and ICT Engineering Design as well as Construction Monitoring Services.

Te Whatu Ora's Challenges

The existing hospital is located on a pre-1920s building site in Kawakawa, providing comprehensive medical, maternity, paediatric and community health services to the community. Te Whatu Ora was looking for the new facility to meet modern models of care and clinical standards. The remote location and limited budget required an innovative and cost-efficient approach to the design.

WSP Solution

WSP helped Te Whatu Ora to evaluate various options, from an adaptive reuse of the existing facilities to a new build. After completing a thorough feasibility study, including an intensive consultation with the clinical users and the board’s facility management team, we recommended partial demolition with an addition of a new purpose-designed facility, linking to the existing site infrastructure.

To maximise value, we involved contractors early in the process, closely considering the options for building form, services strategies, construction methodology, and materials. Our design for the Accident and Medical Centre, a new two-storey building, incorporates various access points to the existing hospital building.

The accident and medical department, including x-ray and consultation facilities, is located on the ground floor and a 20-bed in-patient ward is on the upper floor. Due to our in-depth consideration of available options and early contractor involvement in the design process, the project was delivered on time and to budget, achieving a high level of satisfaction from the client and local community.

Location

Northland, New Zealand

Client

Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau (formerly Northland District Health Board)

Project Value

$14m

Project Status

Completed: 2016-2018

Operational Excellence

Sustainable Solutions

Healing Environments

Future Ready Care

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

WSP identified cost-effective solutions to deliver quality services in a timely manner, planning for multiple stages to be overlapped. Our structural design was based on perimeter precast concrete walls with an internal structural steel gravity frame. The precast walls provide both structural support and fire rating in one element, allowing for fast and cost-effective construction.

The internal floor and roof are supported by structural steel framing. Slender columns allowed for plan flexibility while rapid construction was supported using simple bolted joints on site.

Staging and decanting was one of the key considerations of the project. The overlapping of construction stages made it possible to decant and fit-out existing areas before the start of demolition works. This approach proved successful and resulted in multiple milestone celebrations between all project team members. To avoid any impact on the operation of the existing hospital, while undertaking required demolition works to make space for the new facility, remaining portions of partly demolished buildings were stabilised accordingly.

Due to minimal existing structural documentation WSP developed bespoke stabilising solutions and successfully resolved unforeseen demolition issues, like contaminated land and hazardous conditions.

Since the new facilities were designed and constructed during a period of change for building consent requirements, which were above and beyond the original contract scope, we needed to adapt our design approach.

To provide the complete design documentation for proprietary products at building consent stage, we split our documentation into staged consents, and successfully attained building consent within the required timeframe.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Te Whatu Ora has adopted a Sustainability Action Plan, in which one of its goals is a 15% absolute carbon emission reduction by 2025. The plan recognises that heating and cooling of hospital buildings is a great cost and emission source. WSP therefore designed for sustainable construction methods to create energy efficient buildings with a low material impact, which are comfortable, healthy, future proof, and contribute to a positive experience.

We worked closely with the Board’s Sustainability Development Manager to achieve these goals and, for example, equipped ward and waiting rooms with large, openable windows to reduce energy costs and emissions by using natural ventilation, when conditions allow.

To maximise the reuse of existing material we integrated the design of the new Accident and Medical Centre into the existing building and optimised its footprint by building over two storeys to reduce façade quantities and improve project material efficiency.

DELIVERING FIT FOR FUTURE AND STATE OF THE ART CARE

Te Whatu Ora was looking for the new building to be flexible and adaptable to future healthcare needs.

This included a plan to expand the multi-use hospital, adding a new community facility at a later stage. We therefore closely considered our architectural approach for the layout, and established no-go zones for the foundations, where links between the buildings can be provided.

PROVIDING HEALING ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

The main driver for the hospital redevelopment was to maintain quality health outcomes while working within the tight budget.

We therefore applied innovative approaches to combine multiple benefits like cost efficiency, sustainability, and creating an environment that improves occupants’ wellbeing.

For example, the use of pre-cast walls provides acoustic benefits, limiting the exposure to noise, and the large, opening windows allow for lots of natural light, fresh air, and a connection to the natural environment.

Bay of Plenty Hospital Redevelopment - beds in hospital

EXCELLENT CLIENT AND CONSULTANT PARTNERSHIP

WSP closely collaborated with the other design consultants, Te Whatu Ora, and the stakeholder team to support a smooth design and construction process, including a multidisciplinary safety in design process. We set up efficient reporting channels, like design team meetings, operational co-ordination, and project control and steering groups, to inform and accommodate the various stakeholders.

Additional lines of communication and mechanisms for client and contract instructions, approvals, and delegations supported efficient decision making.

As the structural designer, we also worked closely with pre-cast suppliers and the main contractor throughout the project, to integrate the design and build elements into the overall project programme, consenting strategy, and design delivery.

We're proud to be part of the Bay of Islands community

At WSP, what we do starts with what we know, and what we know comes from our people being deeply connected to our local communities in the Northland region and across Aotearoa.