In the early morning on Sunday, July 12, 2009, a helicopter lifted the last 30 ft section of the pipe-shaped spire into the air. Two steel workers, perched high up in a temporary “crow nest,” efficiently completed the bolted splice connection before the helicopter released its precarious load. This completes the final installation of the iconic architectural tiara and spire design atop the new Methodist Hospital Outpatient Center. The architectural design was accomplished by WHR Architects. The general contractor for the project is Hensel Phelps Construction Co..
The 1.6 million square feet new outpatient care facility is located in the Texas Medical Center at the intersection of Main, Fannin, and University. The project is a new 25-story facility that will provide 23-hour outpatient care services. The project consists of a basement that houses a high-bay truck court and two below-grade visitor valet parking levels, 12 levels of above-grade parking that offers parking for approximately 1,200 vehicles, and 11 levels of programmed spaces that contain state-of-the-art imaging, surgical and diagnostic suites, laboratories, offices, and support facilities.
The exterior architectural design of the Outpatient Care Center features a three-side curvilinear building perimeter, modeled after the Wankel combustion engine, gradually emerging from a rectangular building base. The Wankel shape terminates above the building’s roof in the form of a sloping screen wall with heights above the roof that vary from 12 ft on the east side to a maximum of 52 ft at the western-most building corner. The screen wall is crowned with a “tiara” that is shaped by a varying-geometry open lattice work with stainless steel panels finishes. Three pipe spires, located near the apex of the screen wall, further accentuate the tiara design. The tip of the tallest spire measures 565’-6” above the street level.
The spire sections consist of large-diameter steel pipes with prefinished high-performance paint coating to prevent corrosion. The pipe sections are spliced via bolted connections that have been designed in collaboration with the architects to achieve the desired appearance and yet offer the ease in field installation without welding that would have compromised the paint coating. Except for the last section of the tall spire, all sections were erected with the project tower crane. It was decided to dismantle the tower crane and to erect the last section with a helicopter because the spire final height would have been in conflict with the crane boom.
The unique design of the tiara and spires atop the building will make the Methodist Outpatient Care Center unequivocally the new landmark in the Texas Medical center.
