Lancaster General Hospital’s Skylight Information and Waiting Center Addition was developed to combine five separate waiting areas into one larger area, improving communication between the hospital staff and patients’ family members. The second floor addition consists of 533 square feet of interior renovations and a 3,848 square foot addition on top of an existing roof. It includes a café, restrooms, coat area, two consultation rooms, resource room, and visitor lockers. The second floor is also home to day surgery, the catheterization lab, and operating room suite, heightening the need for extreme cleanliness and low noise level.

Construction began on November 16, 2000, with winter weather fast approaching and threatening the project schedule. The first order of business was to construct and completely enclose the new addition over the existing roof before any demolition could take place. The existing roof needed to be well protected to prevent leaks until its time for removal. Next, existing structural steel columns located on the floor below were reinforced for the addition of new columns.

The reinforcement of the columns and the structural steel erection could only be performed at night due to the area being occupied from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Benchmark’s superintendent and the steel erection foreman coordinated and took special care to manipulate the crane into a space with only five feet to spare between three surrounding buildings. With close supervision, the operator placed steel onto the second floor by maneuvering between a nine-story hospital building, a four-story parking garage, and over a two-story aluminum and glass front entrance.

Following the steel erection, the project progressed into a dried-in stage and finishes began with a temporary enclosure over the 870 square foot, radiused opening for the skylight. The project superintendent kept in constant contact with the architect, the structural stud engineer, and most of all, the skylight manufacturer to maintain the +/- ½” tolerance on dimensions down to 1/64”. The skylight pieces arrived and construction began on March 27. The temporary roof structure was removed piece by piece as the skylight pieces were erected over three days. The skylight installation was completed with no troubles and the remainder of the finishes commenced. Despite its custom construction, the skylight installers stated that this was one of the easiest installations they had performed.

The project was successfully completed on time and within the owner’s budget. The new space was received with enthusiasm and excitement from patients’ families and staff. Benchmark personnel achieved their goal of meeting the customer’s time schedule with the continued communication with the hospital personnel, and employee dedication and determination to deliver a quality product.

Location: Lancaster, PA

Design Professionals: Ewing Cole Cherry Brott

Total SF: 4,381 SF

Value: $830,000

Awards:  2002 ABC - Keystone Chapter AWARD OF MERIT

Services Provided: General Construction Services