Houston Methodist Hospital

Walter Tower

Inserting a 21-story replacement tower without disrupting the rest of the campus.

AEI’s design solutions for Houston Methodist Hospital’s new Walter Tower made connection possible to existing departments in adjacent buildings, overcame air quality and flood plain challenges, and allowed continuous uninterrupted operations of the surrounding campus throughout the course of the project.

To align connection with existing histology lab and central sterile departments in an adjacent building, the first two levels were limited to 13- and 12-foot floor-to-floor heights, challenging intensive MEP distribution systems. Meanwhile traffic, parking, a loading dock, and helipad necessitated elevated air intakes, and head-end equipment had to be located above the 500-year floodplain. AEI’s design placed major mechanical equipment on levels 6 and 16 as well as 1. Decentralized shafts accommodate on-floor ductwork and piping distribution with minimum depths and crossings. Even distribution minimizes system pressure drops and enhances energy efficiency.

Location

Houston, TX

Partners

  • Page - Architect of Record

Building Size

935,000 sq. ft.

Awards

  • Touchstone Award Gold Recipient
  • Community/Team Collaboration and Innovation Finalist for Acute Care Hospital

Wind tunnel analysis informed appropriate design of overcome air quality issues.

Prior to construction, an AEI-designed temporary generator and associated distribution system replaced the power generator that stood on the site of the new hospital. On completion, the temporary generator will be replaced by five new generators in renovated space of an adjacent building to serve Walter Tower and two other buildings.

#1
Texas hospital, U.S. News & World Report

The dedicated cardiology floor has 14 interventional CATH/EP labs.

AEI provided utility master planning for the entire Methodist North Campus within the Texas Medical Center.

Walter Tower provides 18 OR suites – three hybrid, 11 cardiovascular, and two neuro ORs with an I-MRI.

Image of a 480V, 3200A switchgear for the UPS system used at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Project Leaders