The new Surrey hospital and BC Cancer Centre

Salas O’Brien is providing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design services as part of the design-build team for one of British Columbia’s most extensive healthcare facilities, the new Surrey hospital and BC Cancer Centre. This hospital will operate as a fully electric facility, making it one of the first of its kind in British Columbia.

The sustainability features of this facility include LEED Gold certification and salmon-safe certification targets, and compliance with wood-first standards. This entirely digitally equipped hospital will add 168 acuity-adaptable medical/surgical beds. It will also feature a second emergency department for the community and provide access to specialists through virtual technologies.

The new integrated BC Cancer Centre will provide patients and families with an oncology/ambulatory care unit with 50 exam rooms, 54 chemotherapy treatment spaces, and six linear accelerators for radiation therapy.

Electrical Design Solutions
To install underground electrical systems in challenging ground conditions, our team designed medium voltage (MV) service routes that considered both seismic resilience and deep burial requirements, with some areas needing to be buried over 1000 mm below grade. We utilized SKM Power Tools and the Neher-McGrath method to calculate ampacity derating and verify the feasibility of each route.

In collaboration with the architect and structural team, we developed a 2-hour fire-rated MV room to support safe cable pulling, thermal flexibility, and seismic movement—all while maintaining circuit integrity. These early interventions provided safe, reliable service distribution in a constrained site.

Mechanical Design Solutions
We adopted innovative ductwork strategies to optimize the limited floor space and mechanical room while accommodating high supply air demands. We used distributed air handling units to reduce duct sizes and enhance fan efficiency. Additionally, we implemented multiple shafts across the floor plates to minimize duct runs. Strategically locating shafts at the perimeters of smoke zones also simplifies smoke control.

Early in the design process, we coordinated with structural, electrical, and IMIT consultant and contractor teams to optimize corridor service distribution. These measures, captured in our detailed 3D/BIM Revit models, are designed to reduce on-site clashes and accelerate construction.