Six-level primary hospital framing
Structural steel detailing covered approximately 3,720 tons within the 660,000-square-foot replacement hospital.
LocationWheat Ridge, Colorado
Client and fabricatorDrake-Williams Steel
Structural steelApproximately 3,720 tons
Building sizeApproximately 660,000 square feet
OpenedAugust 2024
Project overview
Structural steel detailing for a new 660,000-square-foot hospital campus.
The Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital was developed to replace the former Lutheran Medical Center campus in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
The six-level acute care hospital comprises approximately 660,000 square feet and is located on a 27-acre campus. The development also includes a central utility plant, rooftop helipad and parking structure. The hospital opened to patients in August 2024.
Working for Drake-Williams Steel, our team provided structural steel detailing for approximately 3,720 tons of steel.
Project team and technical details
- Former project name
- SCL Health Replacement Hospital
- Owner
- Intermountain Health
- Building height
- Six levels
- Engineering/detailing record year
- 2020
- Construction start
- 2021
- Engineer of Record
- Martin/Martin
- Architect
- HDR
- Construction manager
- Barton Malow–Haselden joint venture
- Primary scope
- Structural steel detailing
- Key steel elements
- Curved framing, wave-shaped canopy and long-span bridge
- Additional scope
- Architectural and MEP support steel
Detailing scope
Complex structural steel integrated with architectural and building systems.
Curved steel and entrance canopy
The package included curved structural members and the wave-shaped steel canopy at the hospital entrance.
Long-span connecting bridge
Bridge steel linked the parking structure to Level 2 of the hospital.
Architectural and MEP support steel
Secondary steel was coordinated with the primary frame and the hospital’s architectural and building-service systems.
Fabrication and erection information
The structural model provided the basis for consistent steel information across the hospital frame and its specialized elements.
Model to field
Coordinating the SCL Health model for fabrication and field use.
01 / Coordinated model
02 / Fabrication & fieldTechnical complexity
Managing complex geometry within a large, systems-intensive building.
Curved and wave-shaped geometry
Non-orthogonal framing and the entrance canopy’s changing form required accurate spatial definition and coordinated connections.
Long-span bridge interfaces
The bridge needed coordination with the parking structure, hospital and circulation areas at both ends.
Systems-intensive support steel
Architectural and MEP supports introduced numerous interfaces across multiple levels of the large healthcare structure.
Consistency across 3,720 tons
Primary framing, prominent architectural elements and less visible support steel had to remain coordinated within one extensive package.
Our approach
One coordinated line across primary steel, architecture and MEP systems.
The size and functional complexity of the hospital created numerous interfaces between the structural frame and other building systems.
Curved framing and the wave-shaped canopy introduced non-orthogonal geometry, while the support steel had to reflect architectural and MEP requirements across multiple levels.
The structural model provided the basis for coordinating these elements and developing fabrication and erection information for the 3,720-ton steel package.
Project animation
SCL Health model sequence.
The project animation presents the coordinated structure and its construction sequence in a clear visual format.
Project result
A coordinated steel package for a major replacement hospital.
The completed hospital brings four wings together around an open central core and includes a rooftop helipad, central utility plant and parking structure.
The Barton Malow–Haselden joint venture completed the project, and the new hospital opened to patients on August 3, 2024.