New medical office building complies with Kaiser’s green building standards

The new Kaiser Panorama City South Specialty medical office building (SSMOB) in Southern California is a 77,000ft² facility built to provide a hub for Kaiser’s specialty services in the area.

One of the biggest challenges faced by Arup’s engineers on this project was how to integrate the SSMOB with the new seven-story hospital directly adjacent to it, which it connects with on two floors. Because of the buildings close proximity it was necessary to locate the SSMOB building’s services on one corner of the roof to preserve sightlines. To ensure that this decision didn’t compromise access or clearance and that all services fit in the provided shafts, Arup engineers used a 3D model (Revit) to help aid coordination.

This is the first project fully modelled in 3D by our Los Angeles office and the resulting model proved essential to helping streamline the design. Since the SSMOB is housing both Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) and non-OSHPD floors, the HVAC system was designed to satisfy both requirements while still complying with local codes.

Noise management was also a key concern for the SSMOB since it is located in a corner lot that abuts the street on two sides and overlooks residential houses on one side. To ensure that noise was kept to acceptable levels both inside the replacement hospital and at the residential houses across the street, Arup’s acoustical consultants designed a wall at the property line and recommended a manufactured enclosure around the emergency generator.