The site of the New Regional Medical Center is an 84-acre Greenfield property. Previously occupied by an 18-hole golf course, miniature golf course, and auxiliary buildings, this site provides a very accessible and open plan for development. It is located directly off of a main arterial road (Germantown Pike) which bisected half of Montgomery County, and provides access to major roadway systems of neighboring counties, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The site design shall preserve over one-third of the property as open green space for patients, visitors, and public walking trails. Directly across Germantown Pike (to the South) is the Norristown Farm Park, a Pennsylvania State Park, which includes a working farm surrounding the grounds of the former Norristown State Hospital, as seen in Figure 3. Additional property boundaries include residential development (North and East), and Whitehall Road (West). Along Germantown Pike, on the Southwest and Southeast corners of the property, there are existing establishments that range from restaurants, drugstores, and retail services, as shown in Figure 4.

The architectural design of the New Regional Medical Center includes five stories of medical services, encompassing over 366,000 gross square feet. When viewing the design in plan, the building is broken out into two sectors, the patient tower to the south, and the CUP, medical surgery, and emergency services to the north, as shown in Figure 5. The first two levels are full service floors, while the second, third, and forth floors are reserved for patient rooms, and the floor size is reduced to create the patient tower. The main architectural feature of the project is the five story central patient tower atrium. This atrium serves as the location of the main entrance, and the vertical conveyance systems for the hospital. It also provides a sun-filled space, in which each floor's balcony steps back away from the curtain wall to provide an open, large, panoramic view of the surrounding green space.

The New Regional Medical Center is dedicated to implementation of sustainability features within design, construction, and lifecycle of the facility. With consideration for the patients, the community, and the environment, countless steps have been taken by the Einstein-Montgomery Partnership and project team to achieve their goal of a LEED Certified rating for the medical campus.

Due to the project's Greenfield site, a major goal of the project is land preservation. Through thoughtful design, 30 acres of the 84 acre site will be preserved, and low-maintenance landscaping and public walking trails will be included to reflect the Norristown Farm Park and surrounding region. The construction management team is to coordinate recycling, disposal and waste management during construction, with a goal to recycle 75% of construction waste. Strategic building placement by the design teams enables the facility to take advantage of solar gain and maximize the use of natural sunlight and thermal storage capacity. Due to the influence of selected building materials, color and placement, the design staff is able to capture the natural environment and reduce energy expenses. The operating rooms are serviced through 100% outdoor air, with a heat recovery program to assist in a building-wide energy efficient mechanical system. The designed system is 14% more efficient then required by code. LEED featured designs also incorporate Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) and Energy Analysis models, which assist in indoor air quality and energy management. For example, the Smoke Management system for the 5 story Atrium was developed through a CFD model, ensuring high performance and operability. Also, the majority of lighting fixtures in the building incorporate energy efficient compact fluorescent lights. Sustainable design development was also included for future technology. For example, the engineering design incorporates additional items consistent with LEED certification requirements, such as the addition of active solar photovoltaics, and a comprehensive building energy model.

To ensure compliance with all LEED requirements, the construction manager shall retain an independent and dedicated LEED Compliance Administrator to handle all LEED documents and project controls during construction. In addition to this, a third party commissioning agent will facilitate verification that energy related components meet the owner's needs and project requirements per the contract documents.