This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Workers carefully installed the latest curtain wall and metal panel systems at a state-of-the-art cancer care center in Towson, Maryland, just outside of downtown Baltimore.
DPR, the project’s general contractor, quickly pivoted to complete the exterior facade in preparation for a site-wide ribbon-cutting ceremony.
For months, the DPR team had been coordinating between the two interconnected buildings: the $72 million Sandra R. Berman Pavilion and the $73 million Louis and Phyllis Friedman Building. Together, the structures are part of Project Promise, a major expansion of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
So when local officials gathered in November 2023 to cut the ribbon in front of the completed Friedman Building, they weren’t just celebrating the opening of a new inpatient facility. They also pointed to the Berman Pavilion, an early glimpse of a second transformative project coming to life.
DPR completes installation of the exterior facade of Berman Pavilion in November 2023 in preparation for the opening of the Friedman Building.
Courtesy of DPR
Behind the new facade of the Berman Pavilion, construction continued in full force.
As the project continues to work toward completion in 2025, DPR hosted Construction Dive for a tour of both sites, showing the behind-the-scenes efforts involved in both buildings.
At the Friedman Building ribbon cutting ceremony on November 2, 2023, Berman Pavilion is visible in the background.
Courtesy of GBMC Healthcare
From demolition to construction
The Berman Pavilion, a state-of-the-art cancer care center, will consolidate all of GBMC’s outpatient cancer services into one centralized location.
Construction officially began in July 2022 with the demolition of the old Advanced Radiology building, which made way for the pavilion. As DPR began laying the groundwork, it also continued work on the adjacent Friedman Building.
DPR completed excavation construction support in December 2022, allowing the Berman Pavilion project to begin.
Courtesy of DPR
Managing these simultaneous projects required careful coordination to ensure zero disruption to hospital operations, said Ariel Rodríguez, DPR project manager. For example, the DPR team ensured that the GBMC ambulance route, hospital entrance and parking for patients, visitors and staff remained accessible during construction.
In March 2023, DPR installed a tower crane for the construction of Berman Pavilion as foundation work began.
Courtesy of DPR
In early 2023, progress accelerated on the pavilion project, with the installation of a tower crane in March signaling the start of vertical construction. The post-tensioned concrete structure continued to take shape over the following months, leading to a project milestone in August 2023 when the pavilion was completed, according to DPR.
DPR passed the pavilion in August 2023, followed by a safety meeting with all staff at both the Berman Pavilion and the Friedman Building.
Courtesy of DPR
In October 2023, DPR installed curtain wall systems and metal panels on the exterior, with finishes on the facade continuing through December. As the pavilion’s exterior neared completion, DPR turned its attention to the interior.
The GBMC campus shows Berman Hall on the left and the Friedman Building on the right in April 2024.
Courtesy of DPR
The challenges of managing two large construction projects simultaneously on an active hospital campus remained significant, said Zach Root, DPR senior project manager. For example, the closed site required shared resources between the two projects, such as a common trailer complex and material staging areas, according to DPR.
In May 2024, the trailer complex used for the project was transformed into an on-site parking lot for the GBMC facility, which opened to the public in February 2024.
Courtesy of DPR
The 76,340-square-foot facility will house a variety of specialties, including genetics, infusion therapy, gynecologic and medical oncology, and oncology support services. The building is located on top of a newly constructed four-story garage.
DPR expects to finish the Berman Pavilion in early 2025, according to the construction company.
Completion of the Friedman Building
The three-story, $73 million inpatient center features 60 state-of-the-art patient rooms. The building also serves as GBMC’s new main entrance, welcoming patients and visitors into a light-filled atrium.
The three-story atrium floods the Friedman Building’s public space and waiting area with natural light.
Courtesy of DPR
Prefabrication played a key role during the construction of the Friedman Building, according to DPR. The off-site work not only expedited construction, but also helped maintain safety and efficiency on the busy hospital campus.
For example, DPR built nurses’ stations and reception desks for the atrium of an off-site store. These sections were then carefully tested to ensure alignment, especially the curved elements, before being brought to the hospital for installation.
Similarly, DPR constructed approximately 60 precast header walls off-site, while other construction activities progressed on the Friedman Building. DPR’s self-execution team installed these header walls, essential for patient rooms, in stages. Precasting the head walls significantly reduced construction time, congestion and safety risks at the hospital’s active site, Rodriguez said.
To further reduce the impact on the hospital, after-hours work was often sequenced, according to DPR.
DPR built 60 prefab headers off-site while construction progressed on campus.
Courtesy of Jeff Sauers of CPI Productions
DPR also temporarily moved the chapel and medical library to other areas of the hospital during construction. This included the conservation of the stained glass windows in the existing chapel.
To do this, DPR worked closely with GBMC’s chaplain and its business partner, Harrisonburg, Va.-based Glass and Metals, to carefully document and deconstruct the windows for storage in a temperature-controlled warehouse. Once construction began on the new chapel, DPR reinstalled the stained glass windows in custom-made frames.
DPR temporarily moved the chapel and medical library to different locations in the hospital while the new chapel was under construction.
Courtesy of Jeff Sauers of CPI Productions
The Friedman Building opened in November 2023 and is currently fully operational.
The main entrance to the Friedman Building, which serves as the new gateway to GBMC’s expanded facilities.
Courtesy of DPR
