Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Karabots Pediatric Care Center

The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center was made possible through a generous gift from the Karabots Foundation.  The new, state-of-the-art Primary Care Center for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) will be located at 48th and Market Streets to provide primary and preventive health care services to underserved children and families in the surrounding community.

The innovative 52,000 SF, two-story, steel-framed building with partial basement and an adjacent 100-space surface parking lot is situated on a four-acre undeveloped site. The Center will contain 56 child-friendly examination rooms, plus rooms dedicated to radiology, hearing and vision testing, and a phlebotomy laboratory.  The facility will also house community programs offered by Children’s Hospital.  The Center plans to accommodate over 45,000 outpatient visits annually.

The project achived LEED Silver accreditation, and  features roof-mounted solar panels, extensive day-lighting and pervious pavements for site parking and walkways.  The striking façade features random patterns of laminated colored glazing in keeping with the pediatric aesthetic of the facility while reinforcing CHOP’s practice of innovation in medical care. The building’s form is also designed to accommodate flexible planning within the building interior as well as future expansion.

As structural and civil engineering subconsultant to the prime architect, Burns provided the following services:

• Structural engineering, analysis and design of building structure and foundations
• Civil engineering and design of civil/site features and site utilities
• Building code and regulatory agency analysis
• Construction documentation including technical specifications and contract drawings
• Civil-related regulatory review and approvals
• Bid phase assistance
• Engineering services during construction

A significant challenge on the project was the extensive coordination required to achieve harmony between the myriad of construction materials used to form the intricate exterior façade of the building with the supporting structural system.