As part of an effort to centralize its facilities, University of Missouri Health Care made the decision to relocate its Children’s Hospital to a new $232-million facility. Along with joint venture partner PARIC and architect partners Burns & McDonnell and HKS, Barton Malow is working with the team to build one of the largest projects in the University’s history.
The 323,000 SF hospital in Columbia, Missouri is a nine-level concrete structure that is located directly adjacent to an existing patient care tower. The two structures will connect to allow MU Health Care to integrate critical services for women and children in a single location.
With healing and comfort in mind throughout design, the new facility will feature a dedicated kid-friendly entrance, a warm environment with rounded corners to create a softer feel, natural lighting to promote healing, interactive clinic areas that are inclusive for those with special needs, special outdoor areas for children, and rooms with built-in flexibility.
When it opens next year, the new facility will include inpatient services, an intensive care unit, pediatric surgery suites, and the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Unit. Additionally, women’s services will include a labor and delivery unit and a neonatal intensive care unit.
Thanks to collaboration with the client, a construction management at-risk delivery method, early contractor involvement, and design-assist with key trade partners, the team has been able to successfully meet any challenges with a high level of coordination, including the challenge of building on a confined site. The project also utilizes prefabrication and Lean methodologies, which have been instrumental in increasing safety on the jobsite, maximizing efficiency, and leveraging unprecedented innovation.
