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Parkin Private-Public Partnerships | Past and Present

We recently discussed the important role Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) have in Canadian architecture. P3s are major contributors to Canada’s economy, generating $51.2 billion in direct economic output. They’re becoming the path to providing lower-cost, higher-quality public infrastructure around the world.

Current Parkin P3 Projects

Providence Care Hospital | Principal-in-Charge:  R. Cameron Shantz, Parkin Architects Limited in Joint Venture with Adamson Associates

Providence Care Hospital is a new facility in Kingston Ontario currently completing design development and starting contract documents. This 600,000 BGSF facility has 270 beds, of which 30 are forensic mental health and 60 are specialized mental health.

The balance of the facility is composed of complex continuing care and physical medicine patients.  The forensic mental health unit is designed as an inpatient unit comprising single patient rooms, grouped in three pods of 10 beds. These pods include quiet activity rooms, lounges, kitchenettes and outdoor porches.

There are communal program spaces such as activity rooms and dining rooms in addition to 3 different, at-grade, outdoor courtyards.

 

Surrey Memorial Hospital | Principal-in-Charge:  John MacSween, Parkin Architects Limited in Joint Venture with CEI Architecture.

Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is the largest acute care site in Fraser Health, with over 450 acute care beds and the busiest emergency department in the province.

The new Critical Care Tower includes:

  • One and one half floors of underground parking,
  • A new Emergency Department including a specialized area for paediatrics,
  • University of British Columbia School of Medicine teaching facilities,
  • 48 Bassinet Level IIb /Level IIIa NICU,
  • New laboratory facilities including a new core lab, and
  • 25-bed ICU, 25-bed HDU, and two 36-bed medical/surgical inpatient units, one of which specializes in neurology, and the other in dialysis.

In addition to the tower, the project includes a new two-level link to the existing hospital main entry, a lecture theatre, retail facilities and extensive landscaping.

The new facility is being designed to meet LEED Gold and is the first stage of paediatric redevelopment in the lower mainland region.  Family-centred care has been the core requirement for the project, which includes a Ronald MacDonald Family Lounge and overnight rooms for parents.

 

St. Joseph’s Health Care – London/St. Thomas | Principal-in-Charge:  R. Cameron Shantz, Parkin Architects Limited in Joint Venture with aTRR

Parkin is working through a DBFM process for regional mental health care at two different hospital sites for St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. This project will provide a new 168-bed Long Term Regional Mental Health Care Hospital in London and a new 89 bed Forensic Regional Mental Health Care Hospital in St. Thomas, the latter of which opened in June 2013.

The project consists of two entirely separate mental health facilities, delivered as one P3 submission. The Long Term Regional Mental Health Hospital is located at the Parkwood Campus in London will include two houses (48 beds) for Geriatric Care.

The design team completed the design documents and submission requirements for these two facilities within a compressed time frame.  The designs for both facilities responded to the Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) model of care being implemented by the hospital. The buildings are layered in a distinct configuration of “house”, “neighbourhood” and “downtown” to represent the patients’ gradual healing, metaphorically building to their potential movement back into the community.

 

Parkin P3 of the Past: One of the Firm’s First P3 Projects

Brampton Civic Hospital (formerly William Osler Health Centre) | Project Director:  John Christie

The 1.3 million sq.ft. BCH, one of Canada’s first P3 projects, replaced the existing Peel Memorial Hospital as the primary acute care facility for the area.

The facility operates as an open, accessible public hospital; housing 608 acute care beds and 18 operating rooms, and accommodating 90,000 emergency visits, 160,000 ambulatory care visits and 4,250 births each year.

The BCH facility consists of the Diagnostic Treatment Building (DT), the Inpatient Building (IP), a seven-storey 475,000 square foot parking garage that accommodates 1485 cars, and a three-storey central utility plant (CUP).  The DT and IP buildings are linked via two sets of corridors at each level.

Design Objectives, key challenges and solutions:

Challenge 1: The RFP-issued Illustrative Schematic Design (ISD) did not meet all of the user requirements.

Solution 1: Apart from the “rules” to be met for design of the facility, the design had to meet or exceed the provisions made in the ISD.

The ISD had been developed for use in the hospital’s negotiations with the City of Brampton to define and set the building set-backs. The final design solution was required to fit within these defined areas.

Upon review of the ISD and after meeting with the hospital user groups, it became clear that the ISD did not meet the functional program or terms of the RFP requirements. Parkin revised all 37 departments of the facility to meet the needs of the users, the functional program and output specifications. As a result of Parkin’s demonstrating the issues with the ISD, the hospital withdrew the ISD from the Project Agreement.

Challenge 2: The visual impact on the neighbourhood was very important to the surrounding residential community.

Solution 2: Elements such as the extensive use of glass, five different kinds of precast concrete, and elaborate landscaping were used to soften the institutional feel of the buildings.

The central courtyard contains a portion of the IP, the roof of which is seen from the third floor of the IP and DP buildings.  Instead of covering the roof with gravel ballast, Parkin designed a point of visual interest, which also provides sustainable benefits. Patients and visitors overlooking the courtyard are treated to a whimsically abstract design of ovals and curved lines comprising crushed pink granite, white calcite and black river rock.

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