Building programs and briefs by nature tend to be clinical, and hospitals additionally demand a complex set of services coming together in various degrees of sanitation and specialisation. Professional help is usually sought for efficient resolution of this given. Architecture is an abode, not a machine. It is the immeasurable that is made tangible through relief. Medical and healthcare professionals work long shifts at irregular hours and are often disconnected to the rhythms of night and day, taking a toll psychologically over extended periods of time. Adding to the usually morose environments related to the nature of activities housed in a hospital, the need for relief is pertinent in these spaces. Large courts were thus central to both buildings to allow for the perception of time and nature. All corridors open to light at the end further reinforcing the connection to light and green. The West block is a load bearing structure and the East block is a framework structure, each system arising from the area requirements and the vertical heights of the respective buildings. Both have thick walls with small openings to reduce heat gain and consequently reduce the load on the HVAC system. The HVAC system is decentralised floor-wise and block-wise to further reduce CAPEX and OPEX. Large floor heights in the West block with minimal false ceiling increase air exchange for better ventilation. Another key driver of space organisation is the circulation of doctors, patients and relatives, carefully planning ease of movement and maintaining degrees of privacy that significantly contribute to everyday operations and interactions and consequent stresses.
Building programs and briefs by nature tend to be clinical, and hospitals additionally demand a complex set of services coming together in various degrees of sanitation and specialisation. Professional help is usually sought for efficient resolution of this given. Architecture is an abode, not a machine. It is the immeasurable that is made tangible through relief. Medical and healthcare professionals work long shifts at irregular hours and are often disconnected to the rhythms of night and day, taking a toll psychologically over extended periods of time. Adding to the usually morose environments related to the nature of activities housed in a hospital, the need for relief is pertinent in these spaces. Large courts were thus central to both buildings to allow for the perception of time and nature. All corridors open to light at the end further reinforcing the connection to light and green. The West block is a load bearing structure and the East block is a framework structure, each system arising from the area requirements and the vertical heights of the respective buildings. Both have thick walls with small openings to reduce heat gain and consequently reduce the load on the HVAC system. The HVAC system is decentralised floor-wise and block-wise to further reduce CAPEX and OPEX. Large floor heights in the West block with minimal false ceiling increase air exchange for better ventilation. Another key driver of space organisation is the circulation of doctors, patients and relatives, carefully planning ease of movement and maintaining degrees of privacy that significantly contribute to everyday operations and interactions and consequent stresses.