With two hospitals in Natick and Framingham, Massachusetts, MetroWest Medical Center has been a trusted name in patient care for residents of Greater Boston for more than 125 years. To address immediate building enclosure needs and plan for future rehabilitation, MetroWest entrusted the varied facilities of their hospital campuses to Hoffmann Architects + Engineers.
Framingham Union Hospital was founded in 1890 and has continued to grow, responding to the needs of Framingham and surrounding communities. The 1980s saw the completion of a 50,000-square-foot addition and the opening of the MetroWest Cancer Center, followed by the Heart Center in 1991. That same year, Framingham Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital were combined to create MetroWest Medical Center, now the largest healthcare provider between Boston and Worcester.
When MetroWest observed water infiltration at the emergency room entrance, they needed to act quickly. Water was damaging the structural concrete deck, and the concrete had begun to spall in the ceilings of exam rooms below the entry. Hoffmann Architects + Engineers investigated the causes of failure and designed and administered a rehabilitation program. Repairs to the existing deck and overhead concrete, application of a new waterproofing membrane, sidewalk rehabilitation, masonry repairs, and finish restoration brought the emergency room entrance back to weathertight, fully operational condition.
To plan and budget for future rehabilitation projects, MetroWest next asked Hoffmann to conduct a building facade condition assessment of the entire Framingham Union Hospital campus. Comprised of four buildings – the Main Hospital, the Cancer Center/Heart Center, the Medical Arts Building, and the Power Plant – Framingham Union Hospital was constructed between 1928 and the mid-1980s. The buildings are clad in brick, concrete, and painted wood paneling, with varied fenestration types, including wood-framed and aluminum-framed windows, curtain wall, and storefront systems.
MetroWest Framingham Union Hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts
Hoffmann’s design professionals investigated existing conditions and categorized the building facades according to their level of observed deterioration. Our architects and engineers provided recommended repairs for each classification, along with documentation of typical conditions. Areas of concern were noted, including deterioration of brick, windows, concrete, and exterior cladding, as well as water infiltration. Evaluation of the concrete sidewalks and walkways connecting the buildings was also included.
Based on the assessment, Hoffmann developed a prioritized program of repairs, cleaning, and component replacement, to restore deteriorated conditions and proactively extend the lifespan of building elements. To guide the hospital in planning for the next five years, the report presented recommendations and estimated construction costs, organized by year and by building. Recommended repairs included mortar joint repointing, sealant replacement, brick rehabilitation, concrete and stone crack and spall repairs, wood and metal panel replacement, window and glazed curtain wall repair / replacement, gutter and downspout replacement, and facade cleaning.
With the information from Hoffmann’s comprehensive survey in hand, MetroWest is well positioned to budget and plan for the upkeep and restoration of the diverse building stock at Framingham Union Hospital, providing a sound environment for outstanding health care.
Since its founding in 1899 at the bequest of English settler Mary Ann Morse, the Leonard Morse Hospital has been providing state-of-the-art care for patients in and around the growing community of Natick, Massachusetts. The hospital campus evolved through a series of expansions into an amalgam of interconnected historic and modern structures, with diverse construction types and materials.
To meet the energy and heating needs of this complex facility, a utilities plant on the campus periphery is connected to the main hospital building by a subterranean tunnel. When the hospital administration observed deterioration and efflorescence along critical conduits in the tunnel, as well as cracks and water staining in the concrete walls and ceiling, they acted swiftly to protect the integrity of this lifeline to the hospital.
MetroWest retained Hoffmann Architects + Engineers to design and oversee waterproofing rehabilitation at the subsurface tunnel. After evaluating existing documents, Hoffmann’s design professionals conducted field verification of conditions and construction details and provided the hospital with recommendations for repair. Due to the critical nature of the lines and conduits housed within the tunnel, Hoffmann designed and administered complete replacement of the waterproofing system, along with repairs to concrete damaged by water intrusion. The firm’s architects and engineers provided contract documents, bidding assistance, and construction administration services for the challenging below-grade project.
To keep a busy hospital going, production and delivery of utilities must be seamless and unfailing. At Leonard Morse Hospital, resolving water infiltration and repairing deterioration at the subsurface tunnel, which is the central artery of the utility distribution system, was essential to sustaining the facility’s high standard of patient care.
Hoffmann also investigated water infiltration at the hospital cafeteria, which had defied previous repair attempts and caused pervasive damage to interior finishes. Our architects and engineers traced the source of leaks to failed terminations and seams at the roof membrane, insufficient roof drainage, and rusted railing posts and cracked and spalled concrete at the roof perimeter. Hoffmann’s report to MetroWest provided recommendations for rehabilitation, including roof replacement, drainage improvements, concrete restoration, and railing refurbishment, that would resolve the leaks for the long term.
MetroWest Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, Massachusetts
Alongside the full campus facade condition assessment of Framingham Union Hospital, MetroWest asked Hoffmann to provide a similar comprehensive evaluation of the facades at Leonard Morse. With building stock ranging from the brick masonry Fair Memorial Building, dating to 1890, and stucco Hodgson Building, constructed in 1951, to the cast-in-place concrete 1967 Main Hospital and 1984 EIFS (exterior insulation and finish system) Medical Office Building, the hospital campus can be challenging to manage. Knowing which concerns demand immediate attention and which can be deferred for a year or two demands discrimination and experience. Coordinating that work to reduce extraneous costs of repeated deployment of scaffolding and equipment, as well as planning repairs to proactively build on one another over time, was the compound task of Hoffmann’s condition assessment.
The report categorized observed conditions based on urgency and provided detailed documentation of observed deficiencies. A timeline and cost estimates for recommended remedial work gave MetroWest the plan they needed to keep track of the varied repair needs at the diverse buildings of the Leonard Morse Hospital campus.
As the largest healthcare provider in the region between Boston and Worcester, MetroWest Medical Center depends on its hospital in Natick to run reliably, delivering consistent and dependable care to the patient population. Maintaining a complex facility with buildings dating from the 1800s through mid-century to the late 70s and 80s, while delivering state-of-the-art treatment in a comfortable setting, is no small task. With Hoffmann’s guidance, MetroWest was ready to meet the 21st-century needs of a top-tier medical institution while preserving their historic hospital facilities.
Together, Framingham Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital comprise MetroWest Medical Center, the largest healthcare provider between Boston and Worcester.
