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RENDERINGS COURTESY YUKON HOSPITAL CORPORATION Whitehorse General Hospital Expansion 70 | DECEMBER 2017 Whitehorse General Hospital Expansion by ROBIN BRUNET M aintaining quality health care services in northern regions is always a priority, but upgrading and expansion is also always a challenge, given that transportation of building material is complex and expensive, and construction usually has to compete with the severe climate. These factors came into play with the first large-scale enhancement of the Whitehorse General Hospital in 20 years. The $72-million undertaking was divided into two phases that would see the creation of a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facility and a new emergency department, critical care unit and in-patient area, the latter contained in a new two-storey, 44,000-square-foot wing of the hospital, which was originally built in 1959. Following the completion of the MRI facility in January 2015, owners Yukon Hospital Corporation selected CEI Architecture (now HDR/CEI Architecture Associates Inc.) and PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. to tackle the emergency department and in-patient area in a design build partnership. Jason Bilsky, Yukon Hospitals' CEO, told the press that the modernized patient care areas would result in a more positive patient experience, in a comfortable and safe environment: "We are really looking forward to seeing the design brought to life over the next two and a half years." CEI was tasked with developing increased and improved patient care spaces, a decontamination suite and a data centre to function with the emergency department. Esthetically, to ensure the new wing comfortably integrated with the existing building, the architects chose insulated metal panels to clad the building envelope, organized horizontally and vertically to mimic the existing building application as well as provide interesting compositions that would enhance the overall facade. Several clerestories would also help bring natural light into the core of the facility. Given that northern communities receive limited daylight in winter months and landscapes are usually covered in snow, colour was an important consideration for CEI. Therefore, the exterior panels of teal were augmented by coloured glass fins at the main entrance: they reference the Aurora Borealis and acknowledge the First Nations who believe in the spiritual nature of the lights. The fins would also provide subtle coloured light reflections in the waiting area, constantly moving as the day progresses. Brett Halicki, partner with Bush, Bohlman & Partners LLP, notes that the architects and PCL collaborated closely to ensure that the facility would be built as efficiently as possible. "Location and schedule were the big challenges, and the goal was to get the building up and enclosed to avoid the expense of heating an empty shell over the long winter season." It was decided to construct the two-storey expansion using a steel modular system that would allow fit out of the building's mechanical and electrical systems prior to shipping and on site erection. "The ground in Whitehorse doesn't thaw until May, so in November we prefabricated steel modular racks using BIM software and fitted them out in Surrey," says Halicki. "These were essentially four by nine metre panels that could be dropped in between a steel column and girder lines, and we created a LOCATION 5 Hospital Road, Whitehorse, Yukon OWNER/DEVELOPER Yukon Hospital Corporation ARCHITECT HDR/CEI Architecture Associates Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Bush, Bohlman & Partners LLP MECHANICAL CONSULTANT AME Consulting Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Lazzarin Svisdahl Landscape Architects TOTAL SIZE $44,000 square feet TOTAL COST $72 million A_T Contracting.indd Equity Plumbing.indd FM35650.indd

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