The New Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California, demonstrates how early building enclosure coordination, performance mock-up testing, and continuous construction observation can help reduce technical and construction risk on a large, complex healthcare project.
Allana Buick & Bers (ABB) provided building enclosure consulting throughout design and construction, helping coordinate more than 40 enclosure systems, develop and test complex assemblies, address unusual seismic and waterproofing conditions, and observe critical roofing and waterproofing installations.
Project Overview
Project: New Stanford Hospital
Location: Palo Alto, California
Building Size: 824,000 square feet
Project Type: Healthcare
Architect: Rafael Viñoly Architects
ABB Services: Building enclosure design consultation, roofing and waterproofing consulting, mock-up testing support, construction-phase consultation, and construction observation
The 824,000-square-foot hospital was part of the Stanford Medical Center Renewal Project and replaced an existing 60-year-old facility.
The project incorporated large patient-room windows, extensive outdoor garden areas, advanced medical facilities, and a highly complex building enclosure consisting of more than 40 individual systems that had to be coordinated and integrated.
Rafael Viñoly Architects retained ABB to provide building enclosure design and construction-period consultation. Stanford Medical Center separately retained ABB to provide construction observation services for below-grade waterproofing, extensive pedestrian garden areas, and roofing systems.
Coordinating More Than 40 Building Enclosure Systems
One of the primary challenges was the sheer number of enclosure systems involved.
Rather than treating roofing, waterproofing, glazing, curtain wall, storefront, concrete interfaces, and related assemblies as isolated scopes, ABB worked with the design team to establish performance criteria for the enclosure as an integrated system.
ABB assisted with the selection of roofing and waterproofing assemblies, prepared studies addressing connections between different enclosure systems, and drafted construction specifications for the building enclosure.
This coordination was particularly important at transitions between systems. On a project incorporating more than 40 enclosure systems, these transitions created numerous potential coordination points that needed to be resolved during design and construction.
Developing and Testing Complex Glazed Wall Assemblies
The hospital included unique glazed wall assemblies that required specialized development and testing.
ABB assisted Stanford and Rafael Viñoly Architects in identifying, interviewing, and selecting a specialty enclosure contractor to help develop the wall systems.
Once the assemblies and their interfaces were developed, ABB assisted the project team in creating wall assembly mock-ups for seismic, wind, water, and constructability testing.
Testing took place at several locations throughout the United States and required approximately nine months to complete.
Finding Problems Before Full Installation
The value of the mock-up program extended beyond determining whether an individual assembly passed or failed a test.
The project team used the mock-ups to identify construction and interface issues before those conditions were repeated across the building.
According to the project documentation, Stanford approved the additional cost of multiple performance mock-ups because the project team believed that resolving these issues in the laboratory ultimately saved weeks of construction delays.
For complex building enclosure projects, this illustrates an important principle: additional testing before full installation creates an upfront cost, but it can also help reduce field conflicts, redesign, delays, and corrective work later in construction.
Addressing Seismic Movement and Waterproofing Challenges
The hospital’s seismic design introduced another significant building enclosure challenge.
The building incorporated a seismic base-isolation system that required an approximately eight-foot-wide moat between the building and surrounding grade, allowing the structure to move during an earthquake.
The moat covers themselves were not waterproof.
To address this condition, a flexible gutter system was designed beneath the moat covers to span the gap, manage water, and accommodate building movement.
According to the project documentation, this type of complex gutter system had not previously been designed and installed on a building of this scale.
The solution illustrates why building enclosure consulting for highly specialized facilities cannot always rely on standard details. Unique structural and architectural conditions may require project-specific solutions that maintain water-management performance while accommodating movement.
Managing a Long Design and Construction Timeline
The New Stanford Hospital also had an unusually long design period.
According to the project documentation, design occurred over nearly seven years before construction. During that time, the hospital needed to remain adaptable to emerging medical technologies and changing equipment requirements.
The extended timeline also created material-related challenges.
Between design and construction, several manufacturers discontinued products or systems that had originally been specified. As a result, the project team needed to update portions of the enclosure design as material availability changed.
For large institutional projects, this creates an important coordination consideration: building enclosure design may not remain static between completion of the design documents and actual installation.
Long project schedules can require continued review of materials, systems, compatibility, detailing, and performance requirements.
Construction-Phase Review and Field Coordination
ABB’s building enclosure consulting continued through construction.
The firm:
- Reviewed enclosure shop drawings and submittals
- Provided technical support for RFIs and ASI documents
- Attended regular building enclosure construction meetings
- Developed additional enclosure details where field conditions varied from the design documents
This construction-phase involvement helped maintain continuity between design intent and installed conditions.
Differences between drawings and actual field conditions are common on complex buildings. The critical issue is identifying and resolving those conditions before they compromise the continuity or performance of roofing, waterproofing, glazing, and other enclosure systems.
Continuous Observation of Waterproofing and Roofing
Stanford Hospital and Clinics also retained ABB to provide continuous construction observation for several critical systems that would eventually become concealed.
These included:
- Below-grade waterproofing
- Concealed waterproofing at garden roofing areas
- Roofing systems
ABB’s construction monitoring staff produced daily field observation reports documenting ongoing waterproofing and roofing work.
The reports were distributed to Stanford, the contractor, waterproofing and roofing manufacturers, and project record systems.
Why Observation Before Concealment Matters
Continuous observation is particularly valuable for concealed waterproofing because many critical components cannot easily be inspected after they are covered by overburden, finishes, landscaping, roofing layers, or subsequent construction.
Once these assemblies are concealed, identifying and correcting an installation defect can become significantly more disruptive and expensive.
Observation while the work remains accessible provides an opportunity to identify conditions before they are permanently covered.
Results: Building Enclosure Performance After Completion
The project documentation reports several notable outcomes from the building enclosure program.
No Building-Envelope Leaks Reported Since Opening
Most significantly, the project documentation reports that there have been no building-envelope leaks since the hospital opened.
Performance During Seismic Movement
The hospital also experienced a light earthquake following completion.
According to the project documentation, the flexible enclosure features performed as designed, with no air or water leaks reported.
Fewer Construction and Post-Construction Issues
The project team also attributed construction benefits to the testing and observation program.
Extensive laboratory testing of enclosure systems before construction resulted in faster assembly and fewer unexpected as-built conditions.
Continuous construction observation of below-grade waterproofing, podium and garden waterproofing, and roofing also resulted in very few post-construction performance issues.
The project later received the ENR 2020 Best Project Award.
Lessons for Complex Healthcare Projects
The New Stanford Hospital experience provides several lessons for owners and design teams responsible for complex building enclosures.
Performance Mock-Ups Can Resolve Problems Before Construction
The project team found that the additional investment in performance mock-ups helped identify and resolve assembly and interface issues in the laboratory before they were repeated throughout the building.
According to the project documentation, the team believed this process saved weeks of construction delays.
Construction Observation Is Critical Before Assemblies Are Concealed
Continuous observation allowed critical waterproofing and roofing installation to be reviewed while the work was still accessible.
This is particularly important for assemblies that will ultimately be covered by landscaping, overburden, finishes, or additional construction.
Enclosure Systems Need to Work as One Coordinated System
With more than 40 individual enclosure systems, interface coordination was one of the defining challenges of the project.
Roofing, waterproofing, glazing, walls, and adjacent assemblies cannot always be evaluated independently. Their transitions need to maintain continuity across the building enclosure.
Complex Buildings May Require Project-Specific Solutions
The seismic moat and flexible gutter system demonstrate how structural movement, water management, and building enclosure detailing may need to be solved together rather than through standard details.
Long Project Schedules Require Ongoing Design Review
Changes in medical technology, equipment requirements, and material availability meant portions of the enclosure design needed to continue evolving throughout the project’s extended timeline.
For long-duration projects, continued review can help ensure that specified materials and assemblies remain available, compatible, and capable of meeting the original performance requirements.
The Role of Building Enclosure Consulting in Healthcare Construction
The New Stanford Hospital demonstrates that building enclosure consulting extends beyond reviewing individual roof, wall, or waterproofing details.
On a complex healthcare project, building enclosure consulting can provide continuity throughout the project lifecycle:
By connecting these activities, owners, architects, and contractors can identify potential problems while they are still correctable, improve coordination between systems, and reduce uncertainty during construction.
For complex healthcare facilities in particular, an integrated approach can help maintain continuity between design intent, tested performance, field installation, and long-term building enclosure performance.
Planning a Complex Building Enclosure Project?
ABB provides building enclosure consulting and construction observation services for healthcare facilities and other complex buildings nationwide.
Our teams work with owners, architects, contractors, and project stakeholders to evaluate building enclosure systems from design and testing through construction and field observation.