Top Takeaways: Sustainability and Health Equity HCD Conference Panel

Discover the 4 strategies that defined the project:

1. Progressive Design-Build: The Engine for Cost-Neutral Sustainability

The Progressive Design-Build (PDB) delivery model was credited as the engine for achieving cost-neutral sustainability. Moving from a challenging past design-bid-build experience on campus, the Jefferson Healthcare team fostered proactive collaboration and transparency from the start.

The team created specialty Project Working Teams (PWTs) to constantly hunt for opportunities where value and sustainability intersected. This was key to integrating goals instead of budgeting for them separately. The contractor’s role was to “hold the line” and defend the pre-agreed-upon sustainable specifications, ensuring the commitments were met throughout construction. As the structural engineer, Coughlin Porter Lundeen’s role was to drive down embodied carbon by finding low-carbon options for the building’s main structure.

“The PBD approach was absolutely key to reaching our sustainability goals. Collaboration and innovation were constant across the team, and having the contractor engaged from day one meant our material decisions were grounded in real data. Since we had a zero-dollar budget for sustainability, we made sure every move to reduce embodied carbon came at no extra cost,” Laura Lindeman shared at the panel.

3. Healthier Materials: Connecting Patient Health to Social Equity

Driven by the hospital’s core mission, the team prioritized healthy, low-carbon materials, directly linking patient health to supply chain social equity.

This meant filtering out materials using Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and eliminating chemicals of concern like PFAS, phthalates, and flame retardants. They also significantly reduced PVC — a material tied to environmental and social injustice in its production. Successful, healthy material substitutions included local, carbon-sequestering Western Red Cedar and a highly durable, PVC-free, carbon-neutral rubber floor.

This focus on material toxicity and indoor air quality complemented Coughlin Porter Lundeen’s parallel goal of tackling carbon in the bones of the building.

4. Concrete Optimization: The Cost-Neutral Approach to Embodied Carbon Reduction

The structural team, led by Laura Lindeman, made the reduction of embodied carbon a top priority, making it a cost-neutral effort through optimization. Laura’s initial hotspot analysis revealed that the majority of the carbon (65%) was concentrated in the concrete elements — especially the dense shielding required for the crucial Linear Accelerator (LINAC).

To address this, Laura detailed their optionality-based approach: “We explored different strategies, for example, using high-strength steel for our columns to reduce the overall quantity of material while ensuring the most efficient design. Using less material means less embodied carbon and lower cost — a win for everyone.”

The PDB model was vital here. It gave the team early time to work with local concrete providers to secure low-carbon mix designs before final specifications were issued, turning a rural supply challenge into a cost-neutral win for sustainability.

A Model for Rural Healthcare

The Jefferson Healthcare South Campus Addition (now the Castle View Building) proves that a small, rural hospital can be an industry leader in sustainable, healthy design. By prioritizing PDB collaboration and integrating health equity and sustainability from day one, the team delivered a fiscally responsible facility that’s healthier for everyone.

“When we look at the whole life cycle carbon of a building, embodied carbon is locked in before you even open the doors. That’s why the structural engineer’s role is so critical—we’re setting the foundation for the building’s entire carbon legacy,” Laura Lindeman concluded.

Interested in learning how to implement cost-effective sustainability solutions on your next project? As a civil and structural engineering firm, Coughlin Porter Lundeen can support client sustainability visions by providing early, data-driven analysis, driving material optionality, and embedding cost-neutral carbon reduction strategies from day one. Reach out to Laura Lindeman directly with any questions.