[Halifax] QE II Health Sciences Centre | ? | 14 fl | U/C

[Half-Axed]

.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

... I can only imagine how long it will take the province to complete construction on this scale. We may well be talking decades at the pace they normally move at. I wonder if this will turn out to be big enough by then, despite its impressive size.

I wonder, also, if this being a P3 project will change the pace of anything. Will be interesting to see what impact, if any, that will have on both the design/planning and construction phases.

When it comes to design, my perception is that everything is planned to the bare minimum, where the pressure is on politicians and bureaucrats to keep the upfront costs low (long-term costs, be damned). If the Private "P" in the P3 is incentivized properly, I can see how overbuilding or building in some redundancy, could provide longer-term savings and be more appealing to them. This is one of the pitfalls of Operating Costs and Capital Costs being separate from one another, with no ability to trade between budgets - it means, at a simplistic level, that if a floor covering is more expensive than something that meets minimum quality standards, but will save maintenance costs and pay for the increased cost in five years, the push is to go for something as cheap as possible (but that meets minimum quality standards) - someone can fight over the operations costs later (and we see the results in all the deferred maintenance). Many private companies take a longer-term view of their investments in physical infrastructure and look at total costs rather than just immediate costs.

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by Half-Axed

It also occurs to me that when this and the new Parkland tower are built, the Willow Tree is going to feel very, very different!

I'm really excited to see this as well. As for the hospital - I would agree the Robie St. facing is pretty intense, but our need for hospitals in general make me pretty forgiving on this. It could look like the Killam probably and I'd still be on board at this point.

It'll for sure be interesting to see what this area turns out to look like. Besides the hospital, just along Robie we have:

8 storeys+penthouse

23 storeys+penthouse

25 storeys

2x30 storeys

30, 32 storeys

We've needed this for a long time.

[Half-Axed]

Yes Robie is gonna turn into a very different street. There are also developments just off Robie in the north end such as Richmond Yards which I think someone123 already pointed out.

Originally Posted by mleblanc

I'm really excited to see this as well. As for the hospital - I would agree the Robie St. facing is pretty intense, but our need for hospitals in general make me pretty forgiving on this. It could look like the Killam probably and I'd still be on board at this point.

It'll for sure be interesting to see what this area turns out to look like. Besides the hospital, just along Robie we have:

8 storeys+penthouse

23 storeys+penthouse

25 storeys

2x30 storeys

30, 32 storeys

We've needed this for a long time.

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by Half-Axed

Yes Robie is gonna turn into a very different street. There are also developments just off Robie in the north end such as Richmond Yards which I think someone123 already pointed out.

Not to mention going up towards Quinpool! Dang, we really are growing up, aren't we.

I can't find the post, but Hadrian posted an interesting "could be" map of the area. Welcome to the forum, btw.

[Half-Axed]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Not to mention going up towards Quinpool! Dang, we really are growing up, aren't we.

I can't find the post, but Hadrian posted an interesting "could be" map of the area. Welcome to the forum, btw.

Thanks!

As a long time lurker I was wondering if Hadrian had a massing of the whole willow tree intersection with the new hospital included. I used to live very near there - I have very deep family ties to the neighbourhood - and it’s just going to seem so different. I’m excited to see it.

[bluenoser]

Originally Posted by q12

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if the building & parkade placements couldn't have been swapped between Robie & Bell, i.e. have the main buildings along the Commons? Acknowledging that ~half of the windows would be facing in toward the site either way, why not provide a nicer setting for the other hospital patients (I realize not all may be capable of getting up to look out the window, but the windows will apparently be sizeable) since there happens to be a large greenspace right there? As it is, it seems like many will be looking at apartments and vise-versa. Also (this wouldn't matter to the hospital but) it would have enclosed the commons with a little bit of a Central Park feel, rather than a view to a large parkade/driveways/chimney stacks etc. Additionally, a Robie St. parkade could have expanded upon or tied into the existing one, maybe saving costs (albeit perhaps requiring a signalized intersection on Robie).

Anyway, I trust there was sound reasoning behind the site plan, carried out by people far above my pay grade!

[someone123]

I deleted a few posts in here that were too personal in nature. Please try to avoid negative posts directed at other forumers and be charitable with each other.

[Half-Axed]

I like your suggestions. Some new hospitals are being built with central courtyard and healing gardens specifically because seeing greenery is beneficial to the wellbeing of both staff and patients.

It would also be better for the folks in the George who thought they were going to have a bit of a view. (Not that views are ever guaranteed in developing cities…)

Originally Posted by bluenoser

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if the building & parkade placements couldn't have been swapped between Robie & Bell, i.e. have the main buildings along the Commons? Acknowledging that ~half of the windows would be facing in toward the site either way, why not provide a nicer setting for the other hospital patients (I realize not all may be capable of getting up to look out the window, but the windows will apparently be sizeable) since there happens to be a large greenspace right there? As it is, it seems like many will be looking at apartments and vise-versa. Also (this wouldn't matter to the hospital but) it would have enclosed the commons with a little bit of a Central Park feel, rather than a view to a large parkade/driveways/chimney stacks etc. Additionally, a Robie St. parkade could have expanded upon or tied into the existing one, maybe saving costs (albeit perhaps requiring a signalized intersection on Robie).

Anyway, I trust there was sound reasoning behind the site plan, carried out by people far above my pay grade!

[KMcK]

Originally Posted by bluenoser

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if the building & parkade placements couldn't have been swapped between Robie & Bell, i.e. have the main buildings along the Commons? Acknowledging that ~half of the windows would be facing in toward the site either way, why not provide a nicer setting for the other hospital patients (I realize not all may be capable of getting up to look out the window, but the windows will apparently be sizeable) since there happens to be a large greenspace right there? As it is, it seems like many will be looking at apartments and vise-versa. Also (this wouldn't matter to the hospital but) it would have enclosed the commons with a little bit of a Central Park feel, rather than a view to a large parkade/driveways/chimney stacks etc. Additionally, a Robie St. parkade could have expanded upon or tied into the existing one, maybe saving costs (albeit perhaps requiring a signalized intersection on Robie).

Anyway, I trust there was sound reasoning behind the site plan, carried out by people far above my pay grade!

I see a clue to the reasoning at the corner of Bell and Robie. The shadow from the new building crosses Bell Road but mysteriously doesn't quite touch the south common. A wall of such buildings along Bell would undoubtedly raise the ire of the Friends of the Common and other anti-tall building groups who would insist the south common will be ruined by shadows from these buildings to the south.

[q12]

https://imgur.com/a/eyyyA2x#LiHirhW

[q12]

Work Underway at IWK Emergency Department Expansion Site

Public Works / Health and Wellness
December 20, 2021 - 1:36 PM

Work has started on the IWK Health Centre’s new emergency department, which will more than double its current size.

“Expanding the IWK’s emergency department is an exciting step forward,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “This project will mean a larger, more modern facility for patients, families, physicians and staff, and will also ensure the IWK continues to meet the standards of care that it is well known for around the Maritimes.”

The new emergency department will be built on University Avenue in Halifax next to the existing parking garage near the front of the Children's Building. The current emergency department is on the opposite side of the complex on South Street.

The new department will help address the increase in patients being seen at the emergency department and meet new infection prevention and control measures. It will also meet future needs in support of the government’s goal of doubling Nova Scotia’s population by 2060.

The estimated cost of the project is $102 million. It will serve children and families from all three Maritime provinces for the next 50 years with a priority on a patient-focused experience.

EllisDon was awarded the construction manager contract for the IWK Emergency Expansion Project. The project is anticipated to be completed by March 2025.

https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20211220003

[q12]

Crews are installing a pedway across Summer Street that will connect the Summer St. Parkade to the Halifax Infirmary Summer St. entrance, part of the QEII New Generation Project

https://twitter.com/NS_PublicWorks/status/1484924666116509704

[worldlyhaligonian]

Thankfully! I was wondering about this, as there is now an agenda against pedways in Halifax planning circles (I think its codified in one of these plans?)

Necessary here: people in wheelchairs, etc. can roll right over to the hospital.

[Keith P.]

Hopefully NSHA is changing the internal configuration of the clinic registration desk/kiosks so that patients do not need to make the long march to the Robie St end of the facility where those are presently located. Even the pedway appears to be quite long to allow entry into the Summer St end of the building.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Hopefully NSHA is changing the internal configuration of the clinic registration desk/kiosks so that patients do not need to make the long march to the Robie St end of the facility where those are presently located. Even the pedway appears to be quite long to allow entry into the Summer St end of the building.

I hope you're right, but it is an unfortunate truism that modern health care facilities are massive, and it is not uncommon for many elderly or infirmed people to have to walk hundreds of metres from parking or public transit facilities to registration, then to clinics, then to blood collection, radiology and then back again. It is a very tough nut to crack, but modern hospitals should try to locate the service areas of the hospital (ER, clinics, blood collection, radiology) in a cluster, on the main floor, close to the main entrance of the hospital, and as close to parking as humanly possible. Retrofitting an older hospital to these standards can be very difficult.........

[RoshanMcG]

[q12]

The new Summer Street parkade, built to support the expansion of the Halifax Infirmary site, will soon be wrapped with artistic panels.

Installation of the artistic panels on the new parkade is underway. Andrea Tsang Jackson, a Canadian-born visual artist, designed a series of dynamic, large-scaled images of folk-art patterns from different cultural groups that will be connected together.

Installation is expected to be completed by the end of May.

https://twitter.com/NS_PublicWorks/status/1514208800693235716

[RoshanMcG]

[eastcoastal]

I ... don't hate it.