Island Hospital Peel Wing

Aiming to be the first of its kind in Malaysia, complete with state-of-the-art medical equipment and the largest, most advanced tertiary care facility in Penang, Island Hospital has set out to be one of the largest medical tourist hubs in Southeast Asia. Not only is this in line with the Penang government’s vision of turning the state into a medical tourism destination, it will also provide local residents with more than 2,000 job opportunities, not to mention the prospects for the AEC industry.

A MEDICAL HUB
Island Hospital is a Penang-based medical centre founded in 1996. Upon this foundation, it is proposing the development of Island Medical City, valued at RM2 billion. Covering over 7 acres of land, the plan is expected to be carried out over three phases to include the construction of a hospital building, medical suites and hotel. Upon completion, Island Medical City will provide more than 1,000 beds and over 300 medical suites.

The now-completed phase of Island Hospital Peel Wing includes a multistorey car park and a new underpass connecting to the existing Island Hospital Macalister Wing. The Peel Wing has a striking façade, with its double-glazed low-E glass wall and green wall irrigated by rainwater. The hospital features a double-volume lobby, a pocket garden on level 9 and a flexible seminar hall on level 12, all designed to provide a comfortable and functional environment for patients, staff and visitors.

The master plan

UNDERPASS
It is the first hospital in Penang to introduce an underpass as the new and existing hospitals are separated by a three-lane one-way road, Peel Avenue. In order to provide seamless circulation between the new and existing hospitals, physical connectivity between the two facilities is necessary. The underpass also functions to connect the services between the two hospital buildings, for instance, the pneumatic tube system. Considering the existing heritage palm trees boulevard, the introduction of the underpass keeps the boulevard humble, picturesque as well as harmonious to the existing neighborhood.

The underpass connects the services between the two hospital buildings

The main construction challenges of building a 120-metre underpass 7 metres below a busy three-lane road required careful relocation of the existing utility and services underground below Peel Avenue, such as cables, sewer lines, pipes and live drains to avoid disruption to the busy traffic. Traffic control had to be deployed to manage traffic during the sectional construction of the underpass. A vibration test specialist was appointed to carry out vibration and noise monitoring to prevent impact on the MRI and CT scan equipment in the existing hospital.

ROJECT DATA
Project Name
Island Hospital Peel Wing
Location
George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Completion Date
June 2022
Site Area
18,228 square metres/4.5 acres
Gross Floor Area
34,655.59 square metres (hospital building)
Building Height
14 storeys
Number of Rooms/Units
305
Client/Owner/Developer
Island Hospital Sdn Bhd
Master Planner
CG Cheng Architect
Architecture Firm
CG Cheng Architect
Principal Architect
Ar. Cheng Chew Giap
Medical Planner/Design Consultant
Arch’Lab Pte Ltd
Principal Designers
Choy Cheng Teng; Hannah Soo
Civil & Structural Engineer
Arup Jururunding Sdn Bhd
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
J.P.R. Sdn Bhd
Quantity Surveyor
Unitech QS Consultancy Sdn Bhd
Lighting Consultant
Ecolumen Design Consultant Sdn Bhd
Landscape Architect
Cahaya Landscape Consultant
Main Contractor
Rimbaco Sdn Bhd
Interior Fit-Out Contractor
Advantes Group Sdn Bhd
Images
Island Hospital (completion site photos); CG Cheng Architect (conceptual graphics and illustrations)

This is an excerpt. The original article is published in
Construction+ Q3 2024 Issue: Constructing Healthcare.
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