Health-Care Facilities

KAPI’OLANI MEDICAL CENTER FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN, Honolulu

Retrofit Team

ARCHITECT: HDR
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Layton Construction
METAL WALL PANEL INSTALLER: Steel Encounters

Materials

CENTRIA’s Formawall insulated metal panels in a range of colors appear on the façade of this 260,000-square-foot medical center.

“It was important that the design symbolized the concepts behind it,” explains Mike Goertzen, project architect. “To communicate key aesthetic elements, we selected CENTRIA panels in specific colors. For example, the charcoal CENTRIA panels on the elevator tower represent the native basalt stone on the islands, and the gray panels on the ‘C’ shape across the façade were selected to symbolize an open seashell.”

The design team implemented Formawall Dimension Series and Formawall Graphix horizontal panels in Crystal Zinc, Brown and Midnight Bronze. The insulated metal panel system provides thermal efficiency and moisture control in a single component, and all Formawall products include a standard halogen-free foam core.

The panels also were suitable for the site conditions, which did not leave a great deal of room for maneuvering complex and heavy materials. “A common challenge in Hawaii is working with limited space, as well as constrained site access,” Goertzen adds. “Looking at the limitations, CENTRIA panels were an asset: The panel system is light and could easily be lifted up and over the site access points. The delivery and handling turned out to be very efficient. The panels were staged on the roof and then assembled on the building’s façade.”

METAL PANEL MANUFACTURER: CENTRIA

The Retrofit

The medical center had to remain open during renovations. Because of the metal panels’ lightweight nature, the day-to-day operations were not disturbed, allowing patients and families to continue to use the facility.

With the complete redevelopment, the neonatal intensive care unit was significantly expanded, adding 24 new beds, to bring the center’s total to 70 beds. The pediatric intensive care unit was tripled in size to make room for 26 private, adaptable rooms. Because of the hospital’s needs, it was important that the project was completed in a timely fashion.

“CENTRIA provided our design and engineering team with the technical support needed to put this together, and the contractor was very familiar with the company and its products,” Goertzen notes. “Without this support and knowledge from CENTRIA and the contractor, we would not have been able to put this together within our tight timeline.”

PHOTOS: CENTRIA