Project Highlights

• Phase I and Phase II concrete-framed structures with brick veneer and precast panel exterior
• Octagonal mechanical penthouse connected to sloping roof floor
• Thickened joists to create wind frame
• Skyway

Overview

WestHealth Clinic is jointly owned and operated by several medical groups, including Abbott Northwestern and North Memorial Hospitals, to serve their patients in the west and northern suburbs of Minneapolis.

In 1994-1996 MBJ provided structural engineering services for phase one of the facility, a six-story structure designed to accommodate future horizontal and vertical expansion. Phase I is constructed primarily of cast-in-place concrete with conventionally-reinforced wide-module floors and conventional spread footings.

Phase II was implemented in 1998, a four-story addition that uses primarily concrete columns and beams, and wide module concrete joists. Joists are thickened at each grid line to create a wind frame up to the fourth level. Roof framing consists of steel columns and beams with steel bar joists. Here a wind frame is formed from steel columns and special joists at each grid. One of the project’s major structural challenges was connecting the sloping roof framing to the level composite concrete slab floor framing of the penthouse. A steel-framed composite concrete slab forms a skyway to physically connect the two buildings, while matching brick veneer and precast panels create a visual link. Delivery of both phases were by a negotiated general contractor and required multiple bid packages.