Brigham & Women’s Hospital Helipad

The helipad provides critical access to patients throughout New England and eastern New York State, accommodating about 500 medical flights every year.

Acentech was brought on board to ensure the noise and vibration produced by helicopter landings on the new tower located at the Brigham would not adversely affect patients and staff. The new helipad is 50 feet higher in elevation than the previous location, and encompasses a larger footprint, enabling U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawks to land. (The Brigham is now the first Longwood Medical Area hospital with a helipad capable of accommodating Coast Guard medevac flights.)

While the helipad tower was under construction, Acentech’s noise and vibration experts measured sound levels from over a dozen helicopter arrivals and landings at the old helipad site to capture the noise and vibration data necessary for our analysis. We measured background noise levels and sound transmission characteristics of the spaces that would be potentially affected by helicopter noise and vibration, including the Connors and Bed Tower buildings at the Brigham. We used this information to help determine noise disruption at the new helipad location, and reviewed window assemblies and possible structure-borne sound transmission issues. Our report included recommendations for window seal upgrades, roof sound isolation, and vibration isolation for new rooftop equipment.