MDACC Alkek Patient Care Tower Vertical Expansion

OWNER

MD Anderson Cancer Center

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Construction Cost
$222 million

Completion Date
September 2012

Project Size
12-level, 471,000 SF expansion
384 beds

MDACC Alkek Patient Care Tower Vertical Expansion

Houston
Texas

Devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education, and prevention, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is the largest freestanding cancer center in the world and has served more than 800,000 patients in its 70-year history.

The vertical expansion of the Alkek Tower was critical in allowing them to serve their patients, both in terms of the number of patients and the quality of the care environment, which is a contributing factor to patient wellness.

The original 12-story tower opened in 1999 in the Texas Medical Center and was designed to accommodate a future vertical expansion of 10 floors. Walter P Moore was the structural engineer for both the original building, which holds 261 inpatient and ICU beds, and the 12-floor expansion completed in November 2010.

Exceptional creativity and ingenuity in structural engineering and close collaboration with both MD Anderson and the design/build team made the Alkek Patient Care Tower Expansion successful. The team ensured there was no interruption of patient care or operations and mitigated the impact of the construction on patients and sensitive equipment in the building. We also more than doubled the capacity of the existing structure and added 4 more beds per floor than originally conceived, while completing the project 3 weeks ahead of schedule and within budget.