St. Barnabas Medical Center recently celebrated the grand opening of its $200 million Cooperman Family Pavilion in Livingston, N.J. The five-story, 240,000-square-foot west wing expansion includes 114 private rooms, an outpatient surgery suite, public atrium, parking, and a neonatal intensive care unit. The project also includes a four-level, 400-space open, precast parking structure. The facility is designed for a future one-story overbuild expansion

The new west wing of the hospital was constructed with a thin concrete filigree and drop beam structural system, which allows for a slim structural depth. In addition long span concrete (minimizing columns) was used and there were no interrupting lateral systems (shear walls). The concrete structure created extra room between floors, providing necessary space for the hospital’s technology, while aligning the new levels with the existing hospital structure.

The new addition also includes a walkway connecting the maternity ward in the existing wing of the hospital to the neonatal intensive care unit in the expansion wing.

The Harman Group provided structural engineering and parking planning and design services for the expansion, working with Francis Cauffman Architects and contractor W.M. Blanchard Co.