Denton A. Cooley Building - St. Luke’s Episcopal
Hospital
Houston, Texas
Buildings Home > Case
Studies: Healthcare> Denton A. Cooley Building  Named
in honor of the founder of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s
Episcopal Hospital in Houston, the Denton A. Cooley Building provides
laboratory space for state-of-the-art research in gene therapy and heart
transplants. This new 10-story, 312,000-square-foot facility houses a
telemedicine center, 325-seat conference center, learning resource center,
outpatient clinic, ten surgical suites, recovery rooms, and intensive
care areas.
A cast-in-place concrete system was selected for this building to meet
several of the project criteria. A shallow floor depth was mandatory
at the lower levels to allow matching of floor elevations with the adjacent
existing flat slab hospital building. The flat slab system selected
for the project was clearly the most efficient given this restriction
on structural depth. Also, it allowed the team to maximize the plenum
space while minimizing the cost of the curtain wall. The inherent flexibility
of concrete systems and the ability to form complex geometries were also
key factors in the selection.
A conventionally reinforced 11-inch-thick flat slab was used on the first
floor and for heavier mechanical space and laboratories loads are present
on the third floor. The other floors used 9-inch-thick slabs. The second
floor contains the project’s ten operating rooms, with future expansion
capability for two. This level also includes two 6-foot–9-inch-deep
by 6-foot-wide post-tensioned transfer girders that support the
eight levels above the column-free first floor opening at the grand staircase
to the third floor. The girders were made of 6500-psi concrete,
while all floor slabs were made of 5000-psi concrete.
On the fifth floor, an 11-inch slab was used in the construction of the
Ansary Atrium, a four-story open space for the enjoyment of patient
families and staff. A heliport on the roof of the building provides
convenient helicopter access for emergency care situations. A network
of concrete shear walls with a concentration at the core was employed
to resist lateral wind loads. The walls range from 12 to 22 inches in
thickness with concrete strength ranging from 4000 psi to 6000 psi.
The overall economy, speed, and ease of construction, inherent
fire
resistance, and excellent vibration characteristics are among
the other aspects of concrete systems that made concrete the material
of choice for this project. In 2002, the facility was awarded the AON
Build America Award as one of the best new building projects in the country.
|
 |
Case Studies:
Cultural Buildings
Educational Institutions
Green Buildings
Healthcare
Hospitality
ICF Buildings
Luxury Residential
Mixed Use
Office Buildings
Religious Structures
Tilt-Up Buildings
| Owner/Developer:
St. Luke’s Episcopal
Hospital
Architect:
Morris Architects and
FDS International
Structural Engineer:
Walter P. Moore
General Contractor:
Linbeck
Concrete Supplier:
Houston Shell
Post Tension Supplier:
Dywidag Systems
|
|
|