PCL Construction - New St. Paul’s Hospital

The New St. Paul’s Hospital is a cutting-edge, patient-focused, and sustainable acute-care and research campus poised to transform healthcare in British Columbia, Canada. It integrates modern medical services, research innovation, and community wellness with a strong emphasis on environmental resilience and cultural inclusivity—scheduled to open in 2027.     The $1.7 billion design-build contract was awarded to PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. with construction beginning in 2021. The project team faced a unique and demanding set of challenges, shaped by both the ambition of the project and the context of its launch.     Delivering a project of that size and complexity, from design development, permits, procurement, construction and commissioning, with an aggressive timeline, in final stages of a pandemic, and high inflation conditions, required a deeper level of coordination between consultants and stakeholders.

To address the complexity and scale of the New St. Paul’s Hospital, the project team established BIM as the central foundation from which all other digital solutions derived. By anchoring workflows around a robust BIM execution plan, the team ensured a unified data environment where models became the single source of truth for design, construction and operations.    Building upon this BIM-centric approach, a suite of interconnected technologies was implemented to resolve project complexities efficiently. Tools such as Revizto leveraged the federated 3D models for collaborative clash detection and issue tracking, enabling rapid coordination between disciplines. Drone mapping integrated with HP SitePrint connected the digital design world with physical site execution, enhancing layout accuracy and reducing field rework.    Scheduling data was linked with BIM through production trackers, giving real-time visibility into progress versus plan and enabling proactive decision-making. Quality workflows were digitized via BIM 360 Build, directly associating inspection and issue data with model elements for precise accountability. Immersive VR mockups allowed end-users to virtually experience spaces before construction, facilitating early validation and refinements.    These stacked technologies created exponential value by overlaying data from one platform onto another, producing holistic insights that no single tool could deliver alone. Each solution added unique context —whether spatial, temporal, qualitative or operational—all interconnected back to the 3D models. This enabled visualization-rich, data-informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.