Bon Secours St. Francis, Downtown Campus, Tower Reclad

Originally built between 1968 and 1971, St. Francis Downtown Hospital was one of the first, all-private room hospitals in the Southeast. To meet the demand of a growing city, the six-story bed tower was expanded to 12 stories in 1984.

Over 30-40 years the tower’s brick cladding had become both dated in appearance and an operating cost concern due to moisture migration, maintenance, and energy efficiency. In 2015, MPS was approached by the hospital to conduct a feasibility study to reclad the tower with an updated exterior veneer system. Working with the general contractor Vannoy Construction, our team considered 3 cladding scenarios: 1. Remove all of the brick and reclad all 12 stories; 2. Clad over the existing brick with curtainwall; 3. Reclad the vertical window bays and repoint the existing brick at the outboard toilet bays. The final decision was to design and price scenario 1.

The project also includes interior renovations of all patient rooms and patient bathrooms with new flooring, ceilings, paint, wall protection, doors, ceramic tile, light fixtures, cabinets, and partial shower replacements.

Our designers worked closely with the owner and GC to identify phasing and logistics. Safety was the primary concern and schedule was a close second. Because the hospital had to remain operational, this drove the need for a rapid re-clad solution. To minimize disruptions, a prefabricated panelized system became the preferred delivery. The panelized system allowed the removal and replacement of 120,000 SF of façade for replacement over the span of two years in 10 phases.