Background
Emory Healthcare is an academic medical system focused on research and innovation, and the largest healthcare system in Georgia.
Challenge
With successful programs in Orthopedics, Brain Health, Medical Science Education, and Health Information Technology, Emory wanted to expand and better integrate these services to develop future innovative treatments and provide solutions for healthcare challenges facing its communities. To accomplish this, Emory wanted to combine multiple centers of excellence into a state-of-the-art Musculoskeletal Institute.
Solution
Hammes was engaged to provide project management and transition planning services for the new 180,000-SF Musculoskeletal Institute in Emory's Executive Park health innovation district. This project represented the first phase of a multi-phased development to integrate education, research, and innovation with health and wellness. Hammes supported master planning efforts for the institute's 65-acre campus to ensure the site was maximized for the additional planned development of more than 2 million square feet.
Emory's Musculoskeletal Institute, which opened in October 2021, combines several centers of excellence to provide advanced orthopedic and spine care with state-of-the-art clinical and research support space. Through close coordination with Emory and project collaborators, Hammes successfully managed this highly unique project on time and within budget.
In the words of Scott Boden, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at Emory University School of Medicine and director of the Emory Musculoskeletal Institute: “The Emory Musculoskeletal Institute is one of the most complex design and construction undertakings imaginable. With spaces including offices, surgical suites, advanced imaging with shielding, a wet laboratory and even an aquatic research facility, the planning, project management, equipment tracking and other details were a monumental task. I cannot imagine anyone having managed this level of complexity better than the Hammes team.”
The Emory Musculoskeletal Institute is the first-of-its-kind “smart building” featuring a smartphone app for staff and visitors, expandable operating rooms with 5G-integrated equipment, photoelectronic glass that automatically adjusts to control temperature and lighting, automatic monitoring of external airflow and enhanced air filtration and treatment systems.
The facility was built with sustainability at every level and will pursue LEED Gold Certification. The building is 100% powered by renewable energy produced onsite or from green energy sources acquired from Renewable Energy Credits (REC).
It has received numerous awards including the 2022 Healthcare Design Showcase - Honorable Mention; the 2022 A+ Architizer Awards - Special Mention; and the 2022 AIA Georgia Design Award of Merit.
