Carolinas Medical Center

Carolinas Medical Center
Surgery Tower
Charlotte, NC

We designed the intervention and angiography special procedures rooms to accommodate invasive procedures, adding features usually found in operating rooms: scrub sinks next to primary staff room entrances; computerized equipment in separate rooms; control rooms located to ensure optimal staff viewing of the procedural areas; and the procedure rooms themselves offering ample space for specialized staff and equipment.

These projects—an upfit of approximately 22,500 SF on Level 4 of the new surgery tower, with approximately 4,000 SF of renovations to existing D-wing and E-wing space—demonstrate how a genuine understanding of operating issues and the day-to-day needs of medical staff shapes successful designs.

Challenges:
• Demolition of a five-story addition on the proposed site
• Construction over existing emergency generators on ground level
• Stringent air quality requirements in surgery suite located directly
above diesel generators
• Construction crane interference with med-evac glide path
• Small site without materials staging area

Outcomes:
• Expanded surgical services
• New finishes standards for the surgical suite
• Prototype OR
• Custom laminar air flow system for each of sixteen operating rooms
• Project competitively bid and significantly under budget