Parkland Earns LEED Gold Award for New Hospital

The new Parkland Memorial Hospital has been awarded the LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, which sets voluntary standards for buildings. This is the second LEED Gold certification Parkland has received. In 2013, it received LEED Gold for its tower garage located at the corner of Harry Hines Blvd. and Medical District Dr.

“We have had a focus on sustainability throughout the planning, design and construction of the hospital,” said Lou Saksen, vice president of facilities planning and development, Parkland Hospital. “Throughout design and construction we were tracking a solid LEED Silver. As we neared the end of construction, we saw an opportunity where we could make some changes to achieve LEED Gold. This is a huge accomplishment.”

The new 2.1-million-square-foot acute care hospital, which opens Aug. 20, was designed to promote excellence in clinical care, teaching and research in a technologically advanced and easily accessible environment.

“The integrated design and construction team approach was critical in the overall sustainability success that was achieved on this project,” said Mark Meaders, sustainable design project manager, HDR+Corgan.

“The entire hospital was designed with the patient in mind,” Saksen said. “With 10 acres of glass covering the building, natural light radiates throughout the new hospital. Each patient room includes a window, and many treatment areas throughout the hospital also incorporate the use of windows and natural light to assist in the healing process.”

The entire healthcare campus, Saksen said, was sustainably designed. In doing so Parkland can efficiently manage and control solar heat gain and, by using recycled, local building materials, it has reduced the carbon footprint.

BARA was the construction manager at risk. The BARA joint venture team consists of Balfour Beatty Construction, Austin Commercial, H.J. Russell & Company and Azteca Enterprises. The team of HDR + Corgan designed the hospital.

Learn more about the new Parkland and sustainability at Parkland.