ENGINEERING
best practice from the pharmaceutical sector, and incorporate industry standards.
Due to the project’s specialist nature, the hospital needed a partner that was proven across the design and construction requirements. Working with BES as a multidisciplinary team meant that the hospital team could collaborate with a single company for a full turnkey service across design and construction, with a smooth and seamless transition between each discipline. Dealing with one integrated team ensured that every aspect of the project was ‘joined-up’, with proven processes and effective information sharing. This has been critical for eliminating the risk of details being overlooked, or buildability issues occurring, during construction.
Design development Working with the hospital’s user requirement specification (URS), and engaging with its Estates team and senior pharmacist, BES took the concept design from RIBA Stage 2 to stage 4 in a collaborative process that draws upon the company’s experience in sophisticated environments. It was clear to the BES team that there were opportunities to make significant improvements to the design to generate cost, buildability, and operational benefits. Validation of the project also began at design stage, with design qualification ensuring that the project is viable, fit for purpose, and meets the URS.
Adding value
One of the key improvements made during the design process was the relocation of the main corridor used to access the new pharmacy and the aseptic suite entrance. The BES team suggested this be switched from the north side of the building to the south, as this will enable key areas that need to be temperature controlled to be within the north side of the building, where there is less solar gain.
The vision panels and pass-through hatches allow full visibility of personnel through each suite of the facility – an important safety factor for the hospital.
This change to the original layout will reduce the cooling load required for the facility, simplifying the building services, and reducing operational cost. The new pharmacy aseptic suite is arranged from east to west in a linear progression, occupying the entire level of the building. Former nurses’ accommodation on the seventh floor was earmarked for refurbishment as a plant room to serve the new facilities, and this had to be put in place during Phase 1 of the project, to enable the new pharmacy to become operational before construction work commences on Phase 2. As part of the design development process, BES also had to verify that the existing slab was capable of supporting the loads required for the two air-handling units needed for the pharmacy and aseptic facility. As the existing slab was constructed using hollow terracotta panels, the BES team had to confirm the load requirements to establish whether a replacement slab would be needed. This addition to the original scope of works
was avoided with the use of a screed to provide a suitable base for the AHUs.
Small service penetrations Once the load-bearing issues with the seventh floor slab had been resolved, it remained clear that service penetrations through this unconventional slab would have to be small. This required a greater number of small ducts, adding to the challenges of the congested service void. Once again, close collaboration between BES’ design and construction teams was required to ensure that the duct routes could be installed within very strict tolerances in the limited void.
Design compliance
The facilities have been designed to HTM and GMP pharmaceutical requirements, with BES carrying out the design qualification validation process before work began on site, and leveraging the team’s experience in the pharmaceutical sector. Because ATMP is such a new area of biopharma preparation, the design development process also involved consultation with the MHRA (Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory products Agency) to ensure that the design of the facility will be compliant with regulatory requirements. Following a consultation with MHRA, the BES team improved the design of the Phase 2 facilities, splitting the change areas to avoid any cross- contamination risk. MHRA also confirmed the viability of the design, ensuring that validation can be achieved without any issues following completion of the project.
A 3D image of the Isolator Room.
Digital design tools To aid the design and end-user engagement process, the BES team leveraged a suite of modelling and visualisation software. The facilities were designed using 3D Revit modelling, with
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