The first phase of the Pukou New City Medical Center, situated south of Puzhu Road and east of Shifo Temple in Dingshan Street, Pukou District, has recently been topped out. This phase covers nearly 400,000 square meters of construction area.
Using BIM Models to Ensure Green Construction from the Design Stage
The project is being developed in two phases. The first phase spans 167,000 square meters and consists of 10 stories. The main structure of this phase has just been completed. Gulou Hospital will manage this phase, aiming to establish a comprehensive medical facility.
Zhu Bin, project manager from the third company of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, the contractor, highlighted the project’s strong emphasis on green building concepts since the design phase. The construction process prioritizes environmental protection, pollution reduction, and maximizing conservation of energy, land, water, and materials.
During design, BIM technology was employed to create detailed 3D models based on the construction drawings. These models provide a comprehensive view of the building’s internal pipeline systems and quantify steel and concrete usage. This approach helps minimize design errors and omissions, better control resource use, and supports goals such as low-carbon design, green construction, fewer design changes, cost reduction, and improved efficiency, Zhu Bin explained.
Instead of traditional concrete pavement, the project’s office and living areas feature reusable Dutch bricks and grass planting bricks. Zhu Bin noted, “Concrete pavement requires significant investment and must be broken up after project completion, which is wasteful and environmentally unfriendly. Dutch bricks and grass planting bricks can be removed and reused, reducing waste.”
The project has also adopted different road solutions tailored to specific needs. Roads designed for heavy vehicles use welded custom steel plates, which greatly reduce concrete waste and lower transportation costs for demolition debris. These steel plates are reusable after project completion. Pedestrian and small vehicle roads are paved with prefabricated reinforced concrete blocks, which can be reused more than three times, reducing waste from traditional cast-in-place pavement demolition and minimizing concrete consumption.
To reduce dust, the site uses an automatic sprinkler system supplied entirely by construction site precipitation. Additionally, a wastewater recycling system supplies water for firefighting, dust suppression, concrete curing, and cleaning dump trucks, relying on recycled rainwater and groundwater.
Lighting across the site is also optimized for energy efficiency. LED lamps illuminate engineering offices and construction areas, solar street lamps light the surrounding roads, 36V low-voltage fixtures serve workers’ living quarters, and fiber optic lighting technology is used inside buildings. Hot water for workers is supplied by a combination of solar water heaters and air source heat pumps.
Zhu Bin shared that the project aims to achieve the highest national green building rating—three-star certification—as well as the LEED-HC Gold Award from the United States. Once completed, the project will apply for these certifications.
New Technologies Enhance Economic Efficiency
The foundation pit of the Pukou New City Medical Center measures 150 meters north to south and 360 meters east to west, an unusually large and long excavation. Traditionally, such foundation pits require multiple post-pouring strips to accommodate concrete shrinkage and expansion, which prolongs the construction schedule.
For this project, the construction team adopted a “skip pour” method, adjusting the concrete mix to optimize cement content and reduce shrinkage and expansion. The foundation was divided into grids, allowing concrete in adjacent sections to be poured after only about 10 days, rather than waiting over a month as with conventional methods. This approach significantly shortens the construction timeline and results in considerable cost savings.
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