Scott Building Reclad

Middlemore Hospital's Scott Building was only completed in 2006, but by 2019 its cladding needed significant remediation, along with sewer stacks, windows, seismic joints and fire protection. With no spare capacity at the hospital, the work had to be done while the building stayed in full use.

RCP worked closely with the hospital team to schedule the work and prepare patients, including critically ill cardiac patients, keeping contractors, project managers and clinical staff a tight unit throughout. The timber framing was removed with only a single sheet of plasterboard between the work and the patients inside.

A feasibility period on site with the contractor tested tools and methods for replacing the framing while leaving the plasterboard intact, with noise and vibration monitored inside and out. The new framing was screw-fixed rather than nailed, so no interior plasterboard had to be replaced. When COVID arrived, RCP's scope grew to cover HEPA filter installation and the re-sequencing of whole floors into negative-pressure wards, and a leap-frog approach, scaffolding the next section while one was under way, kept the programme moving.

The two-year reclad finished twelve months ahead of schedule and substantially under budget, with the hospital running throughout.