Capital Health Hospital: First New Jersey Hospital to Earn LEED Gold Certification
Friday, February 15, 2013 Replacing the Mercer campus facility in Trenton, the new full-service Capital Health Hospital in Hopewell Township, NJ, became the state’s first hospital building to achieve LEED Gold certification in December 2012.
The new six-story facility includes a 223-bed hospital connected via a multi-level atrium public space to a medical office building, and a central utility plant supports the 925,000 sf facility. The new location allows Capital Health to reach a larger population base than their previous urban hospital, which faced the constraints of being land-locked, making a much needed expansion at that site costly and difficult.
7group facilitated an integrative design process and worked with the project team by providing energy consulting and preliminary energy modeling, along with LEED consulting, specifications and documentation services. A focus on indoor environmental air quality and daylighting was a high priority, and strategies were implemented earning the project thirteen out of fifteen LEED points for Indoor Environmental Quality. Large exterior windows provide ample views of the 165-acre site’s natural terrain and preserved wetlands, as well as maximizing natural light, which has been shown to improve overall recovery and reduce a patient’s length of stay. “From the very beginning of planning for Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, the goal was to create a healthier environment for patients, visitors, and staff, and to be environmentally responsible,” Al Maghazehe, President and CEO of Capital Health said in a recent press release. “This progressive healing environment provides important emotional support for patients while practicing environmentally sustainable principles.”
7group also provided communications design and video production related to the project. A series of videos focus on green features, art and healing, local community engagement/economic development, and Capital Health history. Additionally, video stories were produced for Anchor Health Properties, HKS Architects, Array Architects, Skanska and Target Construction.
Including this project, 7group has collaborated with project teams on 81 LEED certified projects to date and remains committed to working on progressive projects focused on contributing to the health of each unique place.
