The first acute-care hospital built out of timber reached a significant milestone on Friday, with the first elements of mass timber used in the beams, panels and slabs assembled over the Picton hospital in Ontario, Canada.
Considered a new model for healthcare, the 97,000 square-foot Quinte Health Prince Edward Memorial Hospital will become North America’s first unencapsulated mass timber hospital with Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp, Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson, and representatives from Infrastructure Ontario, HDR – the architect, M. Sullivan & Son – the builder, PECMH Foundation, PECMH Auxiliary, Prince Edward Family Health Team, and Quinte Health all attending site to celebrate the milestone.
Using locally sourced timber, the mass timber building, which is greener, lighter and faster than a traditional steel and construction system, will see crews commence installing the massive elements in the coming weeks: “It’s about balancing environmental and social sustainability in the sense that mass timber in healthcare is at once about human comfort and environmental stewardship,” according to Jason-Emery Groen, HDR’s design principal, who revealed the new build will save more than 9 million kilograms of embodied carbon over traditional healthcare construction.
Wood Central understands that switching steel and concrete for timber (constructed by M Sullivan & Son) is a game-changer for the booming North American healthcare industry – whose real estate market will surpass $ 1 trillion over the next five years. This, HDR said, “demonstrates how this high-energy-use typology can be (re)designed to use sustainable building practices,” adding that timber has several biophilic benefits, namely in creating “warm, human-centric environments that are inviting and open” for visitors and inpatients alike.
“The new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital is more than a healthcare facility,” said Stacey Daub, president and CEO of Quinte Health: “Together, with passion, purpose, and gratitude, we are forging ahead to break ground – each foundation poured and every piece of timber utilised will stand as a testament to our collective commitment to enhancing local healthcare for today and future generations.”
“Transitioning from an older, outdated building to this new innovative, all-mass timber structure (will allow) Quinte Health to meet the latest standards in health and provide a safer, more resilient space that serves both our community and the thousands of visitors every year.”
The new building, slated to open in mid-2027, comes after Wood Central last year reported that a growing number of psychiatrists and mental health experts are using mass timber to help with children’s mental health, designing facilities that reduce aggression, add daylight, and importantly, connect patients with nature.
“Out is the Nurse Ratched-era designs – the straight corridors, the scary doors, and the feeling of not knowing where you are going. All replaced by universal design principles that work,” Wood Central reported, with NBBJ leading the charge with its new “Ohana” clinic, a new 55,600 square-foot Californian facility designed for Montage Health.
“When people come into emergency rooms when they need surgery, they expect to be passive recipients of care in sterile spaces,” said Susan Swick, executive director of the Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioural Health in Monterey, California. “When you come into a space for mental treatment, these are not passive treatments…it is critical that we engage a child’s curiosity and sense of agency rather than surrender.”
- To read more about Ohana and the growing push to use mass timber systems in mental health facilities, click here for Wood Central’s case study from March 2024.
