The Hillcrest Medical Center’s new six-story, 183,000-square-foot (17,001-m2) heart institute presents an inviting appearance both inside and out. The building is capped with a round rotunda that emits a beacon visible at night across half of the city.
The project features approximately 23,000 linear feet (7,010 m) of Flex-C Trac and Flex-C Angle from Flex-Ability Concepts to frame the rotunda and entire front façade, as well as create the interior curves and radiuses that help provide a welcoming feel. The design team from WHR Architects created a warm, relaxing lobby to greet guests as they enter the institute.
Hillcrest sent teams of employees and architects to visit five of the nation’s best heart hospitals to review best practices and then built mock-ups of several rooms so that physicians, nurses and other work groups could study the designs and make adjustments.
Green County Interiors did the interior and exterior framing. The project utilized 8,100 feet (2,469 m) of Flex-C Angle and 15,000 feet (4,572 m) of 16- and 20-gauge Flex-C Trac in 3 5/8- and 6-inch
(92 and 152 mm) widths.
“It was a pretty complex job,” said Ed Gregory, project manager for Green Country. “There were lots of radiuses weaving together and numerous large radiuses that had to be laid out off of a grid.”
The Flex-C Trac featured a new Hammer-Lock feature that allowed the shaped track to be held in place by hammering down tabs in each link of the track instead of securing the track with screws. “It definitely saved labor,” Gregory said.
Owner: Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa
Architect: WHR Architects, Houston
Framing: Green Country Interiors, Tulsa
Distributor: Building Specialties, Broken Arrow, Okla.
Metal framing: Flex-Ability Concepts, Oklahoma City, www.flexabilityconcepts.com
