BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Health Complexity

The new BC Children’s Hospital dedicated to complex medical conditions will connect children and youth with centralized care and allow for their families to receive training and support for caregiving.

The building is designed for accessibility and therapeutic practices, with an atrium connecting all three floors that features a ramp intended to support independence and mobility for the children to navigate the building. The main entrance featuring mass timber sets the stage for the repeating wood elements that can be found throughout to create a bright and natural warmth.

The care facility will have a concrete substructure to support an above grade hybrid mass timber-steel superstructure. Hybrid mass timber-steel floor system was chosen based on a design criteria that focused on architectural expression, mechanical integration, and structural economy.

The hybrid floor system will be comprised of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) floor panels over glulam purlins and flush steel girders, providing a clean aesthetic while satisfying life safety and dynamic vibration performance criteria. The Care Facility’s lateral system includes a combination of concrete shear walls and steel frames to provide flexibility in the architectural programing.

A light frame wood structure for the childcare building was selected to meet passive house project objectives, utilizing conventional light-frame wood framing to satisfy the structural requirements of the single-storey building, while accommodating the insulation and robust envelope performance requirements of the passive house assembly.

At its completion, it will include a 74-space daycare, 16 suites for children and caregivers to stay to receive in-person services which envelop two courtyards providing outdoor spaces and natural light throughout the centre, as well as a wellness path design to accommodate mobility devices, cafeteria, lobby, and an All Nations space and Plaza that will feature Indigenous art, design, and languages in the interior design.

The hospital – at the site of the former Sunny Hill Health – is anticipated to begin spring 2025 and expected to complete by December 2027.

Renders courtesy of Diamond Schmitt