New England’s AEC Leaders Explore the Future of Health Care and Life Science Facilities at Create + Construct

“Massachusetts is a world-renowned hub for life sciences and health care, and we are poised to be a driving force in the future as these areas converge and amplify one another,” said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Travis McCready, the symposium’s keynote speaker. “We have a unique opportunity here to invest in innovative infrastructure, nimble facilities, and flexible business models that will fill the gaps today and set the standard for generations to come.”

In addition to Mr. McCready’s keynote, the event’s agenda featured:

• Session presentations on planning for resilience in critical structures, designing new facilities in tight urban spaces through prefabrication, and retrofitting active health care centers.
• A panel discussion with health care and life science executives on trends, roadblocks, and opportunities for the area.
• A walking tour of the construction site for Boston Children’s Hospital’s new Hale Family Clinical Building.
• Breakout sessions exploring modern construction practices for new health and child care facilities, including the University of Global Health Equity campus in Rwanda and the Be Like Brit Orphanage in Haiti.

“AEC professionals are partnering with owners to balance the opportunities of medical advancements and venture capital investment with the challenges posed by shifting demographics, accelerating technology, and limited space,” said SGH Senior Staff Member Daniel Clark, who moderated the event’s panel session. “It was great to hear directly from our peers and colleagues in the field about their experiences with these types of projects and what they envision for the future.”

Special thanks go to the event’s guest speakers and panelists: Michael Benedetto of Skanska, Jim Chambers of Shepley Bulfinch, William Kane of BioMed Realty, Andrea Kerr of Boston Children’s Hospital, Scott LeClair of Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates, Edmund Lydon of Northeast Hospital Corporation, Kevin Neumann of E4H Environments for Health Architecture, Joe O’Farrell of Harvard University, Bill Ravanesi of Health Care Without Harm, Jason Seaburg of Suffolk, Tom Sieniewicz of NBBJ, and Lisa Strope of JLL. Participating from SGH were Daniel Clark, Emily Hopps, Michael Hughes, Joshua Kivela, Casey Stevenson, and Brian Twomey. New England Real Estate Journal served as media sponsor for the event.

Create + Construct took place at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. The fourth-annual symposium came to Boston for the first time in 2018 as SGH expands the event beyond its original location in New York City.