Kaiser Permanente Redwood City new hospital gets its “skin”

Pre-fab Panels add “finished” look to new Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City

More than 400 prefabricated wall panels are going up on the steel skeleton of the new Kaiser Permanente replacement hospital in Redwood City.  The tinted panels, many with windows pre-installed, will make the project look finished, although much more work must be done inside for the new Kaiser Permanente hospital to open in late 2014. The panels reveal the new Kaiser Permanente hospital is several shades of a honey amber .

            “I was inspired by the colors of stone buildings I saw in Bath, England”, said Kaiser Permanente Project Director, Mark Srebnik, AIA.

            A 300-foot tall crane is lifting the panels into place on the outside of the 7-story structure.  The smallest weigh 440 pounds, the largest more than 5 tons.  The panels are made of glass fiber reinforced concrete, or GFRC:  they have been precast at Walters and Wolf Company in Fremont.   Since the panels are made off-site, Kaiser Permanente says there is more control of the process and higher quality.

            “We worked with San Francisco architects HOK to recreate the colors, and with Walters and Wolf to pre-tint the panels to match”, says Srebnik.

            Kaiser Permanente officials say using the prefabricated panels allows for better scheduling of the Redwood City replacement hospital construction.  The GFRC panels can be installed to the exterior while other workers continue interior work.  Also the panels are permanently tinted (eliminating need for future painting) and waterproof,. And with the outside wall in place, workers are better protected from inclement weather this winter and next.

            Kaiser Permanente plans to open three new state-of-the-art 21^st century health care hospitals in 2014: Redwood City, San Leandro, and Oakland.