University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

500,000-sf, design-build vertical and horizontal expansion and renovation composed of a 12-story addition above and 24-story elevator tower next to the existing continually operating 12-story hospital. The expansion includes 240 new inpatient rooms, pharmacy, facility support space, observation deck, three shell floors with room for 144 future patient rooms, as well as renovation of existing spaces and upgrade of existing structure and infrastructure to support the expansion.

Building on top of an operational 12-story hospital posed a variety of challenges. McCarthy, in close collaboration with design-build architect HKS and other key team members, successfully completed this project on time and on budget, taking the client’s expectations to new heights, literally. More than doubling the hospital in height, McCarthy’s solution-oriented approach enabled the team to find a way to add two additional floors to the expansion project, taking the expectation from 10 expansion floors to 12. Glass fiber reinforced concrete was used for the building skin, enabling the foundation to support the weight of additional floors while staying within the existing budget.

The tight site also posed significant challenges. How do you build a 12-story vertical expansion with room for only one tower crane when a project of this scope normally would use three cranes? McCarthy immediately delivered another innovative solution – build the 12-story expansion around a tower crane erected in the existing elevator shaft.  After cutting a hole in the roof, the construction team lifted sections of the tower crane through the shaft piece-by-piece, facing obstacles including sight visibility, noise control, wind resistance and safety considerations.  A 460-foot tall mobilization crane was utilized to build and dismantle the tower crane and another crane was utilized for the sole purpose of building and dismantling the mobilization crane.

In the end, the collaborative effort, teamwork and proactive approach resulted in a top-tier facility. This collaborative team spirit between the design-build team and owner allowed McCarthy to develop various design and construction concepts to arrive at the most cost-effective solution for meeting the owner’s goals and objectives for this project. Not even Hurricane Ike in 2008 was enough to put this project behind schedule. Today, the result is a world-class hospital facility with a hospitality environment, helping make the patient journey as comforting as possible.