Over its more than 130-year existence, Regions® Hospital in Minneapolis, MN, has built a reputation as a world-class trauma and emergency center. A private, non-profit hospital and the only certified Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center in the Twin Cities, Regions began planning its latest expansion in 2006. As the key step in that process, the hospital’s board commissioned architects Ellerbe Becket (now AECOM) of Minneapolis to design an addition that would increase triage space, improve the workflow, add 20 state-of-the-art operating rooms, new patient rooms and parking areas for patients, their families and the staff. The design directive was to create a facility with a hotel-like atmosphere and amenities in which every patient would feel like a VIP.

Working in conjunction with Studio Five Architects of Minneapolis, Ellerbe Becket enlarged the hospital's Emergency Center to house 53 beds, as well as an 11-bed mental health crisis unit, an on-site pharmacy and radiology and lab services. An eight-bed "fast track" area was included in the Emergency Center to help reduce the time it takes to assess and treat patients with minor injuries or illnesses. The 11-story, 420,000-square-foot tower houses five floors of patient care units designed to accommodate 36 beds on each floor. The upper three floors of the tower are shell spaces for future expansion. A new main entrance to the hospital unifies the existing and new structures. The opening of the Emergency Center in July 2009 marked the completion of the construction phase of the $179 million project. The surgical and inpatient care units opened to patients a few months later.

To tie the new and old structures together, the architects designed a metal and brick façade. For the metal portions, M.G.McGrath, Inc., of Maplewood, MN, fabricated 100,000 square feet of aluminum composite wall panels from 4mm-thick, PE-cored Reynobond® ACM. The five custom colors of material--Regions Hospital White, Regions Hospital Red, Regions Hospital Silver Metallic, Regions Hospital Blue and Regions Hospital Pewter—were manufactured by Alcoa Architectural Products USA of Eastman, GA.

The ACM panels are featured on the building’s exterior wall areas and were used to wrap the addition’s canopies, soffits and columns. McGrath installed the ACM in a pressure-equalized rainscreen wall system over 16-gauge hat channels fastened to 15-gauge z-furring. The wall construction also incorporates 3”-thick Foamular® 250 rigid foam insulation and a Tremco® vapor barrier. McGrath was also the installer of integrated louvers by Industrial Louvers Inc., of Delano, MN.

Kraus-Anderson Construction Company of Minneapolis, MN, served as the general contractor for the project.