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Emergency Department and Critical Care Tower by Peter Caulfield photos: Ed WhitE photographics / courtEsy cEi architEcturE S urrey Memorial Hospital's new Emergency Department and Critical Care Tower project is a triumph of form and function. The building combines advances in clini- cal structure and design with modern patient care systems and technology. "Members of the public who have toured it have called it 'impressive' and 'awe- some,'" says Barry Pearce, private pub- lic partnership (P3) chief project officer of Fraser Health Authority ( FHA), the hospital owner. "It's a shining example for all hospitals of state-of-the-art de- sign and infrastructure." At 412,000 square feet and a total capital cost of $512 million, the project is one of B.C.'s largest capital invest- ments in health care. The undertaking, which is aiming for LEED Gold, includes an eight-storey critical care tower, new emergency and pediatric emergency departments, and other renovations to the Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) campus. SMH is located on King George Bou- levard and 96th Avenue in the centre of Surrey. The immediate area is made up mostly of low-rise concrete commercial and residential buildings. As a result, the hospital's distinctive blue-tinted tower in a three-dimensional ceramic frit pattern stands out dramatically. The massing on the facade combines four building elements – wood, glass, ceramic and stone – which are woven throughout the facility as textures and details. The warm effect softens the institutional nature of the hospital and emphasizes personal healing and care. The facility uses a variety of struc- tural materials, says Mark Anderson, a partner with Bush, Bohlman & Partners LLP. "The main tower consists of rein- forced concrete that provides a robust and durable structure," says Ander- son. "The tower columns are laid out on a nine-metre-square grid pattern to maximize flexibility in layout and future program changes." Structural steel was used for the link structures to the exiting campus, an interstice level above level three for servicing future operating rooms and the helipad. Glulam framing was used for the emergency, main and ambulance entrance canopies and the main entry lobby. "Research has shown that visual wood surfaces have a positive impact on physiological stress responses," says Brenda De Jong, clinical planner for CEI Architecture Planning Interiors. The roof structure of the main 20-by- 20-metre public entry pavilion is sup- ported by four thick Glulam pieces of wood that resemble the branches of a tree and which extend from floor to ceiling. Wood elements are also incorpo- rated into the link between the new tower and the existing hospital to rein- force the connection and emphasize wood as a natural way-finding element. Phase 1 of the project, the Emergency Department (ED) on the first floor, was completed and handed over to the FHA in July 2013 and opened to patients in October 2013. It is Canada's second- largest ED and one of only two pediatric emergencies in B.C. The new ED has separate pediatric and adult emergency spaces. The pedi- atric emergency has its own entrance, check-in, treatment rooms and family room. In addition, there's a separate mental health and substance use zone for adults as well as a satellite medical imaging unit. One floor above pediatric emergency is an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ( NICU) with 48 beds. Each bed has its own room, with extra space for par- ents to stay overnight. The NICU includes a pharmacy that April 2014 /51 Emergency Department and Critical Care Tower p50-53_Surrey Memorial copy.indd 51 14-04-03 9:04 AM