continued

Designed to comply with strict height and bulk limitations in Seongnam, a suburb of Seoul, the 165,000-square-foot (15,300-square-meter) facility comprises four levels above grade and four below, for parking and support services.

Patterned, fritted glass, with a range of opaqueness, allows light penetration into patient rooms while providing privacy. Traditional shades provide an optional additional measure of privacy and darkness.

In public areas, a minimal frit pattern increases transparency. Expansive windows and a central atrium enable daylighting.

A central tall, curved wood-slat wall provides a touch of warmth, connecting functional areas vertically and creating natural gathering spaces for patients and visitors. Plants bedeck the building rooftop, terraces, and setbacks.

A Question of Flow

The Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, currently under construction in Shenzhen, China, combines traditional Chinese elements with Western technology to provide a medically effective, culturally appropriate facility for the critical task of managing infectious diseases. Part of a wave of new hospital construction in China, the specialty hospital will include 500 inpatient beds and outpatient clinics serving 2,000 patients per day, as well as research labs and staff housing.

TRO Jung Brannen designed the 83,000-square-meter (893,000-square-foot) complex with AHS International Architectural Design Consulting of Beijing and Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research.

Most of the patient rooms face south in accordance with principles of feng shui. The facility also includes landscaped courtyards, common to traditional Chinese design, and roof gardens.

The buildings will have internal mechanical systems consistent with those found in U.S. hospitals in order to prevent the spread of infection. The campus is also organized consistent with a culturally understood arrangement of locating infectious patients downwind.

The campus has a linear spine from which stretch a series of north-south fingers — narrow buildings that are curved to capture light and channel the winds between them. The complex is divided into three zones based on degree of infectiousness, taking into account the prevailing southeasterly winds on the site.

At the north end of the campus is the infectious zone, with four buildings, each dedicated to different infectious diseases. At the south end is the non-infectious zone, which includes administrative offices and the 900-occupant dormitory where most hospital employees live. In between is the semi-infectious zone, which contains diagnostic treatment areas, outpatient clinic space, and the research building.

To prevent the spread of disease, inpatient buildings have separate entrances, disconnected from other structures, and individual floors are divided into zones to prevent cross-contamination.

In the semi-infectious zone, clinical space is located in the middle ring of the outpatient floor, with staff circulation in the center so staff can interact in the clean core. "Soiled" elevators, corridors, and service docks are separated from the clean zones and clinical areas.

The administration, outpatient, and inpatient buildings are visually joined by a high roof and central arrival courtyard. Actual connections between these buildings are by way of exterior bridges. Glass is the predominant exterior material on the buildings, providing daylighting and views.

Desert Healing

The desert landscape surrounding the University of Arizona's new cancer center in Tucson became a guiding theme of the design. CO Architects designed the 82,000-square-foot (7,600-square-meter) Peter and Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic at University Medical Center North to maximize exposure of patients and staff to the natural world, though trellised terraces, mountain vistas, courtyard gardens, and abundant daylight.

The facility reflects both "evidence-based design" and extensive interviews with the client's representatives, including patients, nurses, and physicians.

The building reuses the foundation and steel frame of an abandoned 50-year-old hospital that previously occupied the site. Segments of the deep floor plate were removed, creating three courtyards, one for each of three clinic modules. The full width of the building was extended by two structural bays to form a new public entrance, lobby, and administrative suite.   >>>

Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...

SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE An undulating screen wall composed of steel ribs and wood slats extends through the CHA Women's Hospital. Photo: Jong O Kim Extra Large Image CHA Women's Hospital elevation drawing. Image: KMD Architects Extra Large Image CHA Women's Hospital ground-floor plan drawing. Image: KMD Architects Extra Large Image Site plan drawing of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, currently under construction in Shenzhen, China. Image: TRO Jung Brannen Extra Large Image The Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, a specialty hospital focused on infectious disease, was designed by TRO Jung Brannen. Photo: Nike Model Company Extra Large Image At 83,000 square meters (893,000 square feet), the Shenzhen Third People's Hospital will hold 500 patient beds and is expected to serve 2,000 outpatients per day. Image: Yuanjing Company Extra Large Image The flowing design of the Shenzhen Third People's Hospital will direct wind through the site. Image: Yuanjing Company Extra Large Image The Shenzhen Third People's Hospital is expected to reach substantial completion by December 2009. Image: Yuanjing Company Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.