A topping out ceremony is a steelworkers’ tradition in which a steel beam carrying an evergreen tree to symbolize good luck is raised to a structure’s highest point. The 30 feet steel beam used – signed by hundreds of physicians, employees and community members – was hoisted by crane to the 91 feet of what will be the hospital’s patient tower carrying the traditional tree as well as an American flag.
Designed in a joint venture by architecture firms HOK and RMJM with architect J. Robert Hillier, the $447 million hospital has already earned national recognition for plans that incorporate evidence-based design principles that improve the quality of care.
Located on Route One, between Scudders Mill Road and Plainsboro Road, the hospital will consist of approximately 630,000 square feet of interior space with 237 single patient rooms, state-of-the-art emergency services, operating suites and a comprehensive array of ambulatory services and laboratories.
The hospital will be powered by a 4.6 megawatt natural gas-fired cogeneration plant, developed in partnership with NRG Energy, a Princeton based wholesale power generation company. By producing electricity and heat from a single-fuel source, cogeneration is up to twice as efficient as a traditional electric generation system that produces heat and power separately.
The exterior of the patient tower will be clad with a large system of sun-shielding exterior louvers allowing the building to benefit from expansive windows providing 90% of interior spaces with natural light, while shielding the interior from the sun’s heat and saving on cooling costs. The solar groves, are solar cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity. The 15 panels placed over a portion of the hospital’s parking lot will produce energy equivalent to what would be needed to power 30 average sized single family homes, have been developed in partnership with NRG Energy. By producing and storing chilled water at night, and using it to cool the hospital when needed, the hospital removes thousands of kilowatt hours of demand from the power grid during periods of peak demand, as well as reduces energy costs.
The hospital is slated to open its doors in late 2011.
