Expanding 2×4 into Large Hospital Buildings

By: Kevin Bews

SPF Manager, Canada Wood Japan

With its environmentally friendly and economical design, the Muratakai Shonan Oba Hospital recently opened on July 1, 2020. The hospital is located 50 km southwest of Tokyo in Fujisawa City in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is one of the largest wooden 2×4 hospitals to be built in Japan to date. The uniquely designed 3-storey hybrid reinforced concrete (RC) and platform frame structure has a total building floor area of 3,288 m². To design and build this large wooden structure, nail plate roof trusses were used with spans ranging from 14.5 m to 18.6 m. The first-floor RC structure incorporates hospital functions such as an examination room, operating rooms, and rehabilitation rooms. The wooden 2nd and 3rd floors are mainly patient rooms consisting of 72 hospital beds. There is also a daycare center on-site to look after working hospital staff’s children. The hospital is owned and managed by Medical Corporation Muratakai and was designed by architectural firm Medox.

The general contractor for the project was a joint venture by Shiraishi Kensetsu and Yamamura and the roof trusses were designed and supplied by Primetruss. The building consumed about 400 m³ of structural wood products in its construction including Canadian OSB and SPF dimension lumber. This is another strong example of how COFI’s joint promotion efforts with the Japan Wood Truss Council (JWTC) is really paying off in expanding opportunities for Canadian wood products in non-traditional market segments in Japan.