Armed with hope, imagination and crayons, around 25 young patients of Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego gathered recently to colorize a 4-foot x 8-foot mural depicting a child’s cartoon version of the new $260 million Patient Care Pavilion, currently under construction by McCarthy.
The new facility is being built on a 148,650-square-foot site at the southeast end of the Rady Children’s Hospital campus at 3020 Children’s Way in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego.
The hour-long “Color Our World” mural coloring event was held in the Activities Room at Rady Children’s Hospital. Participants received a custom “construction dude” coloring book and a set of crayons upon their departure, courtesy of McCarthy.
The children, whose ages ranged from toddler to teen, artfully filled in the black and white lines with the guidance of ten McCarthy construction crew members, all of whom are actively engaged in the construction of the new five-story, 279,000-square-foot healthcare facility. The final, colored version of the mural is being photographed and produced into a giant 8-foot x 16-foot laminated sign that will be mounted in front of the construction site, adjacent to the existing Rose Pavilion. The finished sign was erected by McCarthy in mid October, and is now on display to the public until the new Patient Care Pavilion is complete in the summer of 2010.
“Allowing our construction crew members to have first-hand interaction with these severely ill or injured children brought new meaning to our mission of building this much-needed facility,” said Ron Hall, executive vice president of McCarthy. “Many of our workers have kids themselves, and can relate to San Diego parents’ desire to know their children will receive first-rate urgent care should they ever need it. For us, this project is all about the kids.”
The new Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion will house a surgical center, 84 medical-surgical beds, a neonatal intensive care center, and a cancer center to aid in fulfilling the increasing demand for children’s critical care in the San Diego area. Specifically, the facility will include 16 operating rooms with associated support departments, a 28-bed hematology and oncology unit, a 10-bed bone marrow transplant intensive care unit, a 32-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and 84 acuity adaptable medical surgery beds.
McCarthy topped out steel framing for the Rady Children’s Hospital Patient Care Pavilion in late July, several weeks ahead of schedule.
“To be off to such a strong start on a very complicated OSHPD project, knowing what is at stake here, is very encouraging,” said Hall. “This Patient Care Pavilion must finish on time, and we’re definitely on course to meet that goal.”
Designed by San Francisco-based architectural firm Anshen+Allen, the building features a glass fiber reinforced, precast concrete exterior; dimensional travertine stone; storefront and curtain wall glass systems with colored accents; and metal panels, railings and canopies.
A prominent goal for the $260 million Patient Care Pavilion is to achieve a facility that can be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified under guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council. The design of this project incorporates environmentally friendly materials and interior coatings as well as judicious indoor air-quality monitoring and management practices.
KPFF of San Francisco is the structural engineer; RBF, San Diego, civil engineer; Randall Lamb, San Diego, electrical engineer; Shadpour Consulting Engineers, San Diego, mechanical engineer; and Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey of Mill Valley is serving as landscape architect.
McCarthy also handled the design/build services for the adjacent 332,279-square-foot parking structure, with space for 1,039 vehicles on five levels. The project was completed at the end of 2007, and will accommodate the new Ronald McDonald House.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies and has been ranked among the top five national healthcare construction companies by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
