Awards

2002 Award of Distinction/First Place
*Affiliate Retail or Hospitality under 2000 sq. ft.
Medical Imaging
Fairfax, VA, USA
Square Feet: 1,500
Time to Completion: 241 days
*Affiliate means the building was sold through one of our Dealer Representatives

Building Details

A. Architectural Excellence
This hospital addition blends so seamlessly into the attached building, many who see it find it hard to believe it originated in a factory setting. From the brick facade to the tasteful interior finishes, all details of this high-tech MRI facility exceed expectations. A specially designed covered walkway connects the facility to the hospital for easy and comfortable access. Housed within is the highly desirable Hitachi Altaire Open Magnet. The exam room is comfortable, efficient, and appealing. All RF and magnetic shielding are contained within the walls. All highly specialized mechanical and electrical systems are contained within the ceiling.

B. Technical Innovation
The cutting-edge Hitachi Altaire Magnet is extraordinarily difficult to site. It weighs upwards of 93,000 pounds and is extremely sensitive to vibration. As a result many special steps must be taken in the design and construction of any building that properly houses this equipment. A two-foot thick concrete foundation was poured prior to the placement of modules on site and caissons were added to compensate for ground primarily composed of loose fill. The exam room modules were shipped without floors and carefully set over the concrete pad designed specifically to isolate the magnet. The magnet was then lowered through the roof hatch and carefully placed and installed. The building also boasts a modified bit roof and a parapet that was actually shipped with a self-contained curve and erected in one day!

C. Cost Effectiveness/Energy Efficiency
The entire Inova Fair Oaks Hospital MRI Facility is composed of steel and concrete, non-combustible modules meeting or exceeding the most stringent health, life safety, and building codes. Humidity control was an issue due to the strict Virginia regulations that exist for healthcare facilities. Elaborate HVAC modifications had to be made to meet the stringent requirements. Two larger parallel modules make up the exam, control, waiting, mechanical/electrical, and dressing rooms and restroom. The equipment room is contained within a third smaller module placed as a cap across the end of the others. An earlier opening translates into earlier revenue generation. The concurrent site development and building manufacture reduced the construction schedule and accelerated the facility opening by at least four months!