Rehabilitation Center Outpatient Building
As the only rehabilitation hospital in Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center serves a unique and vital role in patient recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration. The hospital specializes in brain, neurology, orthopedic, pediatric, spine injury, and stroke rehabilitation.
IMEG provided design-build mechanical and structural engineering services to Phase 1 of the campus-wide project, which encompassed a major renovation of existing facilities and construction of new patient care and support buildings, including the LEED Silver Certified, 103,000-sf, three-story outpatient building.
Two unique structural features make the outpatient building stand out from its surroundings. IMEG engineers created a 3D structural analysis model for a tall, decorative screen that covers the southeast corner of the building, creating a dramatic façade. The screen frame is partially connected to the building structure and partially connected to a 30-foot steel special cantilevered column system. The frame was also designed to be compatible with the movement of the building in the event of an earthquake.
The rehabilitation center is also highlighted by a unique architectural feature that mimics the historic Mission Revival style of the buildings on campus: a 107-foot tower accentuated by the same decorative screen. (This tower serves as a wayfinding cue for the rest of the campus.) Instead of using a typical framing system, structural engineers selected a lateral force resisting system for the non-building structure. A 3D structural analysis model was also created for the tower, and structural members were carefully selected to meet the deflection criteria of the tower.
The hospital’s structural design consisted of a three-story steel structure with a gravity system made of lightweight concrete on a 3-inch metal deck supported by wide-flange beams and columns. The lateral force resisting system (LFRS) consists of a steel special moment frame system and the foundation consisted of individual spread footing.
As this was a design-build project, all structural details were closely coordinated with the contractor to speed up the steel fabrication process, and IMEG worked closely with the contractor and architect from the design phase to the end of construction to track the project construction budget.
