More than fit-out: how to create an ultramodern medical center in the former ATES building

Case for the construction of a new clinic Atlas in western Moscow.

One of the most progressive clinics in Russia — the Atlas multidisciplinary medical center — is located in the building of an automatic telephone exchange system on Kremenchug Street. Pridex Company, which carried out construction and engineering work at the site, shares a case of implementing a project that is unique in complexity, which has gone far beyond the classic fit-out.

Most importantly, in order to bring the building in line with the new purpose, it was necessary to eliminate a number of design features. Firstly, there were completely no elevators in it: to solve this problem, it was necessary to accurately disassemble the floor slabs and prepare the foundation and then erect two new monolithic shafts.

Secondly, some large medical equipment assumed a greater level of load on the floor slabs than they were able to withstand. As a result, part of the slabs had to be dismantled, and the supply of concrete for pouring new ones was carried out through the roof — for this, the project team needed to partially disassemble the roof. Also, the installation of MRI machines required special work: due to too much weight, they were delivered inside using autocranes.

In addition, the width of the flights of stairs was below the minimum norm that medical institutions must meet. It was possible to rectify the situation only by completely dismantling all the structures and expanding the staircases, after which new reinforced concrete was installed in the building.

As part of the engineering equipment, Pridex also faced non-standard tasks for the fit-out project. Obviously, the needs of a modern medical institution are very different from those for which the ATES was originally designed — to ensure the full operation of the clinic, more light, water, and heat are needed. To bring the structure in line with these requirements, the team converted almost all external communications — water supply, electricity, household and storm-water drainage, and also got rid of an impressive number of outdated telephone networks.

As for internal communications, a three-pipe VRF-air conditioning was installed in the building, which makes it possible to individually adjust the climate in different rooms and a supply and exhaust ventilation system with steam generators to maintain the necessary level of humidity. The company also completely converted the heat supply system and implemented a new lighting system literally from scratch — including an uninterrupted power supply designed to support operation of life supporting equipment in the event of a power cutoff.

When conducting finishing work, Pridex employees had to not only create a modern friendly interior, but also take into account many nuances and increased requirements for the quality of space: in addition to the fact that any material used during construction should be certified by the Ministry of Health, special attention is paid to the so-called clean rooms — these include operating, intensive care rooms, post-operation department, etc. Distinctive features of such rooms are a separate ventilation system with HEPA filters for maintaining air cleanliness, special requirements for doors, windows, pass through boxes in terms of tightness, dirt resistance, special materials for the ceiling and walls, flooring, etc.

Separate work was carried out in terms of creating a security zone for people with reduced mobility as well as a barrier-free environment on all floors. In addition, the company successfully integrated the operating rooms, post anesthesia care units and other specialized rooms with medical gases.

In addition to standard work on the installation of low-current systems (access control, server equipment, safety systems, etc.) modern navigation system was implemented for the needs of the clinic — a tablet is installed on the wall near each room, which displays the name of the doctor, patient and the time of visit.

In addition, to provide telemedicine services to customers, Pridex has integrated a video conferencing system into the hospital’s IT infrastructure, which can provide a high-quality stable signal for telemedicine.

Finally, in order to further revive the interior, the column in the reception area was lined with LED screens on four sides, allowing the clinic to broadcast any content at its discretion.

During the implementation of the project, the building with an area of more than 3 thousand sq. m. with many structural and engineering features was redesigned into a progressive medical center in just 20 months.