Milton Keynes University Hospital, Buckinghamshire (BIM)

Project Overview

Perega was appointed to provide civil and structural engineering consultancy for two major healthcare developments at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) – the new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) and the Oak Ward. Both projects form part of the Trust’s strategic masterplan to deliver modern, sustainable and digitally enabled healthcare facilities that can support the region’s growing population.

The new three-storey CDC replaces the existing facility with a larger, purpose-built building designed to offer faster, more efficient patient diagnosis and treatment. Constructed using a reinforced concrete frame with lightweight steel frame at roof level the building provides:

• Two MRI and two CT scanners
• Five ultrasound suites
• Prep and recovery wards
• Patient waiting areas
• Staff welfare, office and meeting spaces

Perega’s scope of work encompassed the review of existing structural and geotechnical information, coordination of additional surveys, drainage strategy development, and full civil and structural design from concept through to construction. As a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ project delivered in accordance with the latest BIM standards, digital design and collaboration were fundamental to achieving the hospital’s technical, sustainability and operational goals.

The Oak Ward, located to the east of the hospital, provides 48 new inpatient beds across two floors, including four 5-bed bays and four single bedrooms per ward. Designed around a central nurse station with large bay windows to maximise natural light, the new building mirrors the layout of an existing ward to promote operational familiarity for staff. The new ward building is directly linked to the A&E department and has been designed with future expansion in mind, allowing capacity to double to 96 beds if required.

Sustainability has been a driving force throughout. The Oak Ward incorporates air source heat pumps, high-performance building fabric, and energy-efficient systems to align with the NHS’s net zero carbon targets. Sustainable water management features include swales and a rain garden, contributing to a 10% biodiversity net gain through enhanced planting, new habitats and landscape integration.

A Digital Framework for Collaboration

Both projects were delivered within the BIM environment, enhanced by the use of Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). This cloud-based environment connected all project disciplines, workflows and data across the entire design and delivery period.

The workflow enabled automated model review and compliance checking before publishing. Once validated, models were published to the design collaboration space, where they could be consumed by other teams for review and coordination. The ‘swimming lane’ view within ACC provided a clear visual representation of each model’s status, enabling the design team to monitor progress and interdependencies efficiently.

This real-time model exchange streamlined communication, reduced rework, and ensured that any design changes were immediately visible to all stakeholders.

For even greater efficiency, all disciplines were required to set up models in accordance with the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) to ensure elements were categorised for clash detection. This meant renaming element families using a third-party software and forming preset ‘work sets’ defined by the clash detection team, to develop ‘clash sets.’ Specific views in the Revit model were created to ensure relevant information was available for bi-weekly clash meetings.

Managing Complexity Through BIM

The CDC project presented a number of physical and logistical challenges: a confined site bordered by one of the hospital’s main buildings, a busy road, and a bridge link corridor. The site’s sloping topography, clay soil conditions, and proximity to large willow trees required careful structural consideration to manage foundation interactions, soil shrinkage and heave risk.

Through BIM, these complex site constraints were digitally modelled and analysed, allowing the design team to visualise conflicts. The federated model environment ensured accurate coordination between foundations, buried services, and surrounding structures – critical for reducing design and construction risk.

For the Oak Ward, BIM facilitated the coordination of building services and structural layouts within tight floor-to-floor heights, ensuring that service routes, structural beams and ceiling voids were efficiently aligned.

Data Integration and Asset Information Management

As centrally funded NHS projects, both the Oak Ward and CDC required the provision of Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) data to support the creation of Asset Information Models (AIM). Perega’s models were structured and validated to ensure data met these requirements.

We also used the NBS system on both projects, to synchronise information from the specification, attaching Uniclass data, ensuring each structural element was linked to its associated performance and asset information. The BIM interoperability tool within Revit was then used to generate IFC files and COBie workbooks, providing structured datasets that could be seamlessly transferred to the Trust’s facilities management systems.

Regular information management meetings were held to ensure that each discipline’s model contained the correct level of data at every project stage. This disciplined approach ensured that the Trust received not only well-coordinated design models, but also reliable, usable digital assets to support ongoing operation and maintenance.

Outcomes and Impact

The use of Autodesk Construction Cloud and rigorous BIM workflows enabled both projects to be delivered with exceptional precision, collaboration and transparency.

By centralising model management, automating validation processes, and maintaining a live federated environment, Perega helped the wider design team to:

• Identify and resolve clashes early, reducing rework and design delays

• Maintain consistent model structures across disciplines

• Track changes and design approvals with full traceability

• Deliver structured digital data ready for long-term asset management

• Design highly sustainable, technically advanced healthcare buildings that exemplify digital best practice.

Key Achievements:

• Reduced coordination time and improved interdisciplinary communication

• Project delivery aligned with ISO 19650 and Trust BIM requirements

• Collaborative coordination via Autodesk Construction Cloud

• Automated compliance review and model publishing workflows

• Structured COBie and IFC data for long-term asset information management

• Integration of sustainability to meet BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ targets