WHR Architects Celebrates the Commencement of Construction at Houston Methodist

07/09/2015 | WHR Architects

WHR Architects joined their clients from Houston Methodist Hospital in late May for a special crane raising ceremony on the Houston Methodist campus in the Texas Medical Center.

“It is exhilarating for the architects and planners that have been working on this breakthrough project for the last several years to see construction begin,” said David Watkins, FAIA, Founding Principal of WHR, the healthcare practice of EYP. “Houston Methodist is among the leading healthcare institutions, not just in the region but internationally. The project sets new facility standards that will better enable the high quality care, innovative treatment and research that are hallmarks of the institution.”

The new patient tower in the Texas Medical Center will replace patient beds in Houston Methodist Hospital’s original Main building and add highly advanced heart and neurosurgery operating rooms. It is expected to be completed in 2017 and will have the capacity for 378 beds, including 102 intensive care beds, expanded operating suites, hybrid suites and a dedicated cardiology floor with 14 interventional catheterization labs. The new tower, which will cost about $540 million, will include high-tech operating rooms that will dramatically expand Houston Methodist’s ability to provide image-guided heart and brain procedures. These procedures allow for minimally invasive treatment of conditions that once required open surgery.

“Houston Methodist continues to see increased demand from the community for the high quality care provided in our facilities,” Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist said. “Over the next three years, Houston Methodist will invest more than $1 billion into expanding and replacing our facilities throughout the Houston area. We are investing in new facilities for our patients, meeting the needs of our growing community.”

WHR has been actively involved in the development of the TMC for many years, where the firm has designed over 11 million square feet of space for institutions including: Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann, Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth), and Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing.

Houston Methodist is a long-time client of WHR. At the TMC, WHR recently worked with Houston Methodist on their Outpatient Center, Research Institute, and off campus on a Breast Imaging Center.

ABOUT WHR:
WHR, based in Houston, Texas, with additional offices in Dallas, Raleigh, New York City and Copenhagen, Denmark, is the healthcare practice group of EYP, Inc., currently ranked No. 1 in healthcare renovation and the 13th largest healthcare design practice in the United States. WHR’s commitment to critical thinking is balanced by an ingrained empathy that results in both improved project outcomes and positive working experiences for their clients. With over 180 people, the healthcare practice group is working on projects worldwide for top tier public and private education and medical institutions. For more information about WHR Architects, visit http://www.whrarchitects.com.

ABOUT EYP:
EYP is a renowned global provider of high-performance building design, research, and consulting services to higher education, government, healthcare, and corporate clients. Ranked No. 1 in sustainability and fifth overall on Architect magazine’s prestigious Architect 50, the company provides seamless project delivery with access to the award-winning expertise and resources of its family of practice groups, which includes sustainable design leader EYP Architecture & Engineering; WHR Architects, healthcare design specialists; and The Weidt Group, building energy performance specialists. More than 580 professionals in architecture, engineering, energy, and interior design collaborate across 15 offices in the United States and Europe to deliver expertise-driven design. For more information, visit http://eypaedesign.com/.