Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Keeps Operations Going as XL Construction Performs Seismic Upgrade & Creates New Clinical Lab
Babies born on the third floor of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center – and even their mothers – had no idea that directly below them, on the second floor, a construction team was adding shotcrete shear walls, drilling rebar dowels up to 24" long, and replacing mechanical systems. The work was part of a $7 million project by XL Construction to perform state-mandated seismic upgrades on the 524-bed hospital, then to construct a new 12,500 s.f. clinical lab facility in the basement level.Managing construction projects in occupied buildings, especially busy acute-care hospitals, is a specialty of XL Construction, which was hired in part for its experience with such projects. The San Jose-based construction firm also made good use of its highly valued communication skills and flexibility, which were crucial for enabling its teams to keep the seismic upgrades on schedule with minimal disturbance to the hospital's patients and staff.
XL Construction took a carefully planned phased approach to the project, starting with demolition and asbestos abatement in the basement, and moving up sequentially through the hospital's three above-ground floors. They removed the concrete basement slab and poured a new one, while increasing the existing footings. On all floors, they added new shotcrete shear walls – chosen for its advantages in tight or occupied spaces – and drilled dowels into the walls. While reinforcing the building's structure for the seismic upgrade, XL Construction also upgraded the mechanical systems and replaced all the windows with more energy-efficient glass.
As soon as the seismic reinforcements were completed in the hospital's basement, XL Construction started remodeling the space to house a new clinical laboratory, including pathology, histology, cytology, gross dissection, autopsy, and morgue facilities. This part of the project called on another of XL Construction's areas of expertise: laboratory construction.
Of course, a few unexpected challenges arose, and it required some creative problem-solving. For example, when the demolition team opened up the walls, they saw that the utilities and services were not where the design documents indicated. As a result, XL Construction oversaw a new design coordination process to make it all work.
Throughout the project, XL Construction's team members worked seamlessly with one another and with SCVMC. The project was done right – patient care was never interrupted and babies joyfully entered this new world, oblivious to the construction work going on around them.
