Gulf Construction Online - Sports hospital eyes the stars

Qatar Review

An artist's impression of the Khalifa Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Hospital.

Sports hospital eyes the stars

01 March 2004

Tenders have been issued for a one-of-a-kind medical facility which will afford elite athletes an opportunity to rehab sports injuries, fine-tune training regimens and even kick back for a little rest and relaxation.

The Khalifa Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Hospital in Doha, is expected to deliver a five-star experience while helping athletes enhance their endurance, performance and ultimately their athletic careers.
The closing date for the tender is March 18 and a contract for the construction is expected to be announced by the end of April.
“There’s nothing like this anywhere,” says Doug Smith, principal in charge and project leader for design firm Ellerbe Becket. “Not even in the sports-crazed United States.”
The 17,600 sq m facility is a key component of Doha’s 2006 Asian Games complex that will include stadiums, arenas, a natatorium and a number of other new and renovated facilities.
The medical side of Khalifa includes emergency, radiology and operating rooms, 50 patient beds, rehabilitation services, gymnasium and running track, outpatient clinic, thallaso therapy and sports enhancement and testing. The in-patient areas include VIP suites and upgraded amenities more common to an upscale hospitality environment including room service dining, relaxation areas, exercise and leisure areas.
The Khalifa Sports City Development Committee chose Ellerbe Becket following an international design competition last Spring. The firm has designed high-profile sports and healthcare projects around the world, from the Centennial Olympic Stadium in the US and the Guangdong Olympic Stadium in China, to the Mayo Clinic in the US and Samsung Medical Centre in Korea.
Local firms involved in the project include Qatar Design Consortium, the architectural/engineering associate firm; Atelier Kamal El Kafrawi, the interiors associate firm and Davis Langdon Arabian Gulf, the quantity surveyor.
Awarded the commission last May, the team finished its initial design phase in August. “Everyone from the design team to the client has been very efficient,” says Ellerbe Becket medical planner Gregory Chang. “When we got to the final design meeting, we were all overwhelmed with the amount of work that had been produced in such a short time.”
Besides architecture, Ellerbe Becket is providing healthcare planning, interiors, mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering, structural engineering, medical equipment planning and landscape design. Groundbreaking will occur by the end of this year with completion scheduled for early 2006.