RICHMOND, Va. — Dunbar Milby William Pittman & Vaughan (DMWPV) and Schnabel Engineering, both based in Richmond, received the 2017 American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Pinnacle Award on Feb. 2 for showing excellence in innovation and creativity, as well as exceptional social, economic and environmental benefits through their work on the new Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU: Children’s Pavilion.

The budget for this multi-story, 640,000-square-foot building dedicated to children and their families was $200 million, and is said to be the largest most advanced outpatient facility dedicated to children in the region, according to a recent statement. The new Children’s Pavilion has 83 exam rooms arranged in clinic pods to optimize a multidisciplinary care model, a surgical area with operating and procedure rooms, a pediatric-only radiology suite, four operating rooms, two procedure rooms, a pediatric-only radiology suite and lab testing, areas for diagnostic testing and imaging and faculty offices all dedicated to pediatrics. Included in the facility there is also an attached 600-space parking garage. The facility will be built behind the existing Children’s Pavilion on the VCU Medical Center campus.

DMWPV and Schnabel split the engineering work on this project with DMWPV taking on the structural engineering aspects of the project, while Schnabel provided geotechnical and geostructural engineering expertise. The project team was led by VCU health and program manager JLL, based in Chicago, and also included the Richmond office of HKS Inc. (architect), Skanska USA Building Inc. based in New York (general contractor) and Nicholson (design-build contractor for support of excavation) in Fairburn, Ga.

Both DMWPV and Schnabel worked together on designing the structural support of the building and the design of the support of excavation and mat foundation. The excavation for this project went as far as 35 feet below the foundations of the existing Children’s Pavilion, and 55 feet deep below Broad Street. Demolition of half of the existing pavilion was necessary to make room for the construction of four new stories below grade and 11 stories above. There is potential in this design to accommodate further expansion in the future for up to seven more floors above grade, and possible expansion below.

“This project was one of the most technically demanding and rewarding of my career,” said Jeff Davis, PE, principal at DMWPV. “We are very proud of the collaborative efforts of DMWPV and Schnabel Engineering that were recognized to be worthy of the ACEC Virginia Pinnacle Award for Engineering Excellence.”