Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center

Overview

Located in Fort Hood Texas, The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center provides assistance to more than 42,000 active duty personnel and 145,000 family members and retirees within a 40-mile radius.

This 45-year-old critical healthcare facility routinely houses medical professionals performing surgeries, filling prescriptions, and providing maternity services to individuals throughout the surrounding community. We worked to reconstruct a new 947,000 square foot hospital through design-build mechanical and plumbing services. The new hospital replaced the existing medical center facility and provides state-of-the-art healthcare services for fellow Fort Hood U.S. Army site service members and their families.

Our Approach

The ability to minimize water usage and maximize energy conservation proved a critical element for this project. With its central Texas location, Fort Hood is susceptible to droughts from the hot and dry climate. Our design team implemented a capture and reuse cooling tower of wastewater to reduce irrigation water requirements, as well as a 100 percent direct outdoor air system (DOAS) with energy recovery wheels to help save energy. Our team also utilized a BIM solution to determine locations for the facility's various MEP systems.

Sustainable project features:

• Compliant building design under the Energy Independence Security Act (EISA)
• 55 percent reduction in energy use over existing hospitals.
• 30 percent reduction in domestic water use

Result

We successfully navigated the design of the healthcare facility, despite the project's rigorous criteria.