Memorial Herman Medical Office Building - Woodlands

Summarize the project's program, features and achievements?

The Memorial Herman MOB in The Woodlands is a five-story, 33,475 SF facility designed to expand outpatient services and accommodate future medical tenants. Constructed using 68 tilt-up panels and reaching a building height of nearly 78 feet, the structure features a modern medical aesthetic with architectural reveals, formliners, and integrated window openings throughout.

Due to site constraints and adjacency to an operational hospital campus and interstate highway, the project required innovative solutions such as stacked panel systems, multi-phase casting beds, and carefully sequenced crane lifts coordinated with the nearby helipad. The integration of spandrel panels at each level and the use of interior bracing inserts ensured structural continuity while maintaining aesthetic cohesion.

The building stands as a testament to the adaptability of tilt-up construction for complex, multi-story medical applications, and plays a key role in Memorial Herman’s continued investment in healthcare access for the growing North Houston region.

What obstacles were overcome related to the schedule, budget, program, specification, site, etc. on this project?

The project presented a range of logistical and construction challenges due to its complex site conditions and multi-story design. Located adjacent to a major interstate, nestled against a forested landscape, and directly next to an active construction zone for a new parking garage (also built by Orion), the site was extremely tight, with limited access for staging, casting, and crane operation.

Given the panel heights and spatial constraints, most tilt-up panels were cast on-site using custom casting beds in multiple phases. To accommodate the height of the five-story structure, many panels were stacked – adding further complexity to logistics, sequencing, and bracing. Crane access had to be carefully planned and coordinated to avoid disruption to hospital operations and nearby traffic flow.

Interior steel erection had to be tightly coordinated with panel placement, required proactive planning between trades to ensure a safe and efficient workflow. Lower-level panels were braced externally, while the upper stacked panels required specialized brading systems anchored to the building’s interior deck using engineered inserts. This added level of structural complexity demanded precision and continuous collaboration between the engineering, field, and safety teams.

Despite these challenges, Orion successfully delivered the project on schedule, demonstrating the team’s ability to adapt tilt-up construction methods to fit highly constrained and operationally sensitive environments.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project?

The Memorial Herman Medical Office Building required a strategic and highly engineered approach to meet the demands of a five-story tilt-up structure on a constrained, active hospital campus. To achieve the necessary height and structural performance, the building incorporated stacked panels – two levels of tilt-up panels – carefully designed to work in tandem with the steel frame and overall load requirements.

Architectural formliners and reveals were integrated into the panel design to create a visually appealing and consistent exterior. However, maintaining uniformity across stacked panels with textured finishes posed significant challenges. The team worked closely with the design and field crews to ensure formliner alignment and continuity from panel to panel, preserving the intended aesthetic across the building’s vertical elevation.

Each level of the structure included spandrel panels that were also placed at building corners to achieve a seamless architectural expression. These panels required precision in engineering and layout to ensure both structural function and visual flow.

Crane operations added another layer of complexity, as panel lifts had to be carefully coordinated around hospital operations and helipad flight paths. Height limitations for crane booms and strict safety protocols required innovative rigging strategies and lift planning to complete installation without disrupting nearby medical services.

This combination of stacked panels, formliner uniformity, integrated spandrels, and operational coordination on an active healthcare site highlights the engineering ingenuity that defined this project.