Together with consulting engineer AIA Ingénierie, BESIX completed the structural works in 2016. During the first quarter of 2017, the site was operating with 4 cranes in parallel, covering even the highest parts of the hospital. A peak of 100 workers were on site for the structural works. A maximum of prefabricated elements (pre-walls, prestressed floor slabs, hollow core slabs and pre-stressed beams) were employed to keep up the pace. Once the technical and finishing trades moved in, the workforce reached a number close to 400. Pre-reception testing and operating began early 2017 in order to enable the delivery on the contractual date.
The teams used LEAN planning to coordinate the different trades, especially in the traffic areas where task scheduling is essential. It allowed a safe start to the testing and commissioning process and enabling the team to hand over the first segments of the building in the following months. One of the main challenges was making the building wind and water resistant before the fall kicked in. Thanks to the excellent spirit within the team, with its partners Nord France and AIA, as well as with our client, BESIX managed to pull it off.
The new hospital accommodates 507 beds and provides the following first-class health services: a polyclinic, an emergency department, a technical floor, a medical care unit, neonatal care and gynaecology services, psychiatric facilities, logistics and a 4-level lobby atrium with natural zenith lighting.