Le Bonheur Children's Hospital

The expansion of the LeBonheur Children’s Hospital raises the level of pediatric care in the mid-South region. Now the largest children’s hospital in Tennessee, the facility includes a Pediatric Emergency Department, PICU, NICU, CICU, diagnostic and treatment areas, perioperative services, ambulatory clinics, a 3T intraoperative MRI (iMRI) and support functions.

Designed for the strict requirements of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, Walter P Moore designed a cast in-place concrete system for the diagnostics & treatment podium and patient bed tower. The hybrid foundation system consisting of auger cast piles under the tower and rammed aggregate piers under the base saved over $1 million in foundation costs. Walter P Moore worked closely with the client to strategically locate shear walls that would work best with the current functionality while also providing the most long-term future flexibility. Through a rigorous analysis of the structural frame and the associated seismic resisting system, seismic expansion joints (up to 12” wide in some cases) were eliminated from the project.