Middlesex Hospital Main Entrance

Middlesex Hospital

Location Middletown, CT

Category Health Care

Focus Area Parking StructuresRehabilitation PlanningWaterproofing Design

Investigation and Rehabilitation at Patient Buildings and Parking Garage

Named one of the top U.S. hospitals by the “Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success” study, Middlesex is the only Connecticut hospital to be recognized as such. The downtown Middletown medical and surgical facility is also rated among the best-performing hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. To keep the hospital complex operating in top form, Middlesex retained Hoffmann Architects + Engineers to design and administer varied building enclosure projects across the facility.

Main Patient Building

Facade Restoration and Curtain Wall Replacement Design

The historic 80-year-old East Wing of the Main Patient Building was showing its age, with signs of masonry deterioration that prompted Middlesex Hospital to initiate a facade evaluation. Hoffmann conducted a detailed survey and material sampling program to determine the condition of concrete and brick facade elements and recommend appropriate repairs. Our design team developed contract documents and provided bidding and contract administration services for the repair project, which included cast-in-place concrete repairs, brick repointing, precast concrete cornice cleaning, sealant replacement, and application of a protective mineral silicate coating. Later, when Middlesex elected to replace the East Wing roof system, Hoffmann provided expert building enclosure consultation services.

The West Wing serves as the main entrance to the hospital and houses the award-winning “Baby-Friendly” Pregnancy & Birth Center. Water infiltration at patient care rooms and the nurses’ station, along with deteriorated exterior masonry, urged Middlesex Hospital to swift action: they asked Hoffmann’s design professionals to investigate the causes of distress and design a solution. Rehabilitation included replacement of brick veneer and ribbon window systems, as well as installation of new backup wall components, roof copings, and window sills.

At the South Wing, the 60-year-old glass and aluminum curtain wall system was approaching the end of its lifespan. Built when energy performance was low on the list of design considerations, the curtain wall was prone to condensation and ice formation, and heat transfer across the aluminum mullions increased energy use and reduced indoor comfort. The dated appearance was also a concern. Hoffmann designed and administered replacement with a thermally-efficient, modern assembly that upgrades both performance and aesthetics.

When the North Wing, a seven-story building clad in brick veneer and precast concrete, needed new windows, Middlesex asked Hoffmann to design replacements that would compliment the historic West Wing windows and incorporate the frame color and glass used in the new South Wing curtain wall. Our architects and engineers met this challenge with a window replacement concept that addressed existing facade conditions, upgraded energy performance, and provided aesthetic integration with the other hospital wings.

Middlesex Hospital Main Patient Building

Middlesex Hospital, South Wing

Parking Garage

Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation

For the busy medical facility, parking is at a premium. That’s why, when Middlesex observed age-related defects at its four-story, 108,000sf precast parking garage, they asked Hoffmann to assess the situation and recommend a solution. Beginning with a comprehensive investigation, Hoffmann’s design professionals conducted materials analysis and detailed the extent, location, probable causes, and recommended remedial action for observed defects. Because deterioration at the 35-year-old garage was advanced, Hoffmann recommended weighing the costs of large-scale rehabilitation with long-term use goals for the structure. Our design professionals suggested three repair options, ranging from isolated defect treatment to complete replacement.

At the request of the hospital, Hoffmann conducted a feasibility study, in partnership with Anchor Engineering and Manafort Brothers Inc., for construction of a new garage on the Middlesex Hospital campus. The study included analysis of environmental, historical, topographical, circulation, and constructability issues, as well as conceptual layouts and construction cost estimates.

Ultimately, the hospital elected to undertake extensive rehabilitation of the existing structure. Built over a brook, the garage posed difficult site conditions. Hoffmann developed a rehabilitation strategy that both accommodated this design challenge and addressed underlying causes of distress. Rehabilitation involved repair of cracked and spalled concrete, sealant joint replacement, repair of damaged structural connections, drainage improvements, replacement of concrete toppings, surface treatment application, replacement of guardrails and staircases, repainting, and rehabilitation and waterproofing of sidewalks and elevated walkways. Work was distributed over four phases in seventeen months, maintaining continuous usage of the high-traffic parking facility.

To keep the garage in excellent repair, Hoffmann provided a condition assessment several years after the rehabilitation project. Maintaining a parking structure requires ongoing maintenance, and our design professionals provided a prioritized scope of work to address emerging issues and extend the lifespan of the facility.

Middlesex Hospital Parking Garage

Middlesex Hospital, Parking Garage

Outpatient Center

Waterproofing Rehabilitation

The Outpatient Center on Saybrook Road offers a range of patient services, including diagnostic imaging, physical and occupational therapy, laboratory testing, cardiac rehabilitation, and the Middlesex Health Cancer Center. With so many vital patient care operations, Middlesex needed to address observed leaks at the Center promptly and with minimal disruption.

Hoffmann’s investigation found that, due to a combination of site grading and improper detailing of the waterproofing system, moisture was infiltrating into occupied spaces below grade. Our architects and engineers designed a waterproofing solution and developed contract documents for the project.

In addition, Middlesex asked Hoffmann to investigate persistent leaks at the upper-level Cancer Center, originating from the single-ply roof system. Based on a comprehensive assessment that included infrared thermal analysis, the project team provided an evaluation of probable cause and designed and administered repairs to the roof, flashing, and parapet assemblies, restoring water-tight conditions to the patient care facility.

Hospital Kitchen

Waterproofing Rehabilitation

At the Middlesex Hospital kitchen, which serves the dining needs of the patient population, as well as staff and visitors, water was travelling under the aging floor system into occupied spaces below. Hoffmann examined several types of waterproofing systems and evaluated strategies for maintaining a fully operational kitchen throughout the project—24 hours a day, seven days a week. The phased replacement program provided a watertight, durable system without compromising daily operations.

Middlesex Hospital, 33 Pleasant Street

Middlesex Hospital, 33 Pleasant Street

Middlesex Hospital, EVLO Building

Middlesex Hospital, EVLO Building

Historic EVLO Building

Investigation and Historic Roof Replacement

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the EVLO Building at Middlesex Hospital is part of the Middletown South Green Historic District. Although unoccupied, the 1880s building is part of the historic streetscape, and its upkeep is important to the hospital and to the community. Hoffmann evaluated conditions at the three-story brick masonry building and slate-clad mansard roof. To arrest leaks and restore the integrity of the historic building envelope, our design professionals then developed contract documents for slate roof replacement and associated repairs.

Center for Behavioral Health (33 Pleasant St), Center for Homecare and Hospice (770 Saybrook Rd), Healthcare at Home/Visiting Nurses (117 Main St Ext)

Building Condition Assessments and Consultation

As trusted building enclosure consultants, Hoffmann Architects + Engineers provided evaluation and design review services for various buildings across the Middlesex Hospital campus. When the healthcare facility looked to acquire the property at 33 Pleasant Street, an 1880s brick masonry building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, they turned to Hoffmann’s design professionals to assess the building condition and provide recommendations for repairs. At the Center for Homecare and Hospice on Saybrook Road, Hoffmann also provided a condition survey and a recommended program of repairs for the two-story brick building with wood and metal panel accents. When Middlesex undertook a reroofing project at the Healthcare at Home facility on Main Street Extension, they looked to Hoffmann’s expert guidance for project document review and field verification during construction, to see that the roof was designed and installed appropriately.

In our nearly fifteen-year relationship with Middlesex Hospital, their facility engineering team has turned to us again and again for building enclosure guidance, from roof leaks and facade upgrades to parking garage rehabilitation and waterproofing. Beyond the projects listed here, we have also consulted on expansion joint distress, egress stair and window replacement, parapet wall water intrusion, roof condition assessments, and more. We appreciate the trust Middlesex continues to place in our exterior expertise, and we are proud that our ongoing partnership with their engineering team has helped create the well-maintained, inviting, and patient-centered experience that characterizes Middlesex Hospital.

In our nearly fifteen-year relationship with Middlesex Hospital, their facility engineering team has turned to us again and again for building enclosure guidance.