A beautiful endeavour to make hospitals less ugly

Zurich’s University Children’s Hospital showcases what can be achieved if the typical norms are challenged and alternatives suggested.

Like many in our industry, Jamie Brewster, Associate Director and architect at MJ Medical, was struck by Herzog & Meuron’s ability to transform our thinking of what the interior of a hospital could look like. He wondered how we, as planners or designers, could move away from our traditional approach to building hospitals and, in turn, develop more uplifting environments. In his article, he takes a closer look at Herzog & de Meuron’s highly accomplished result and reveals practical takeaways for healthcare facility designers with less time – their contribution to the Kinderspital was a 14-year endeavour – and smaller than grand budgets.

In short, here’s a few ways we could renew our approach to hospital design:

1 – Reconsider hospital design guidance. We can look to other sectors, like aviation, for inspiration on how we can adhere to the necessary building codes in a more creative way, particularly when it comes to fixtures and fittings.

2 – Challenge the singular obsession with future maintenance. A suspended grid ceiling might provide ready maintenance access to equipment in the ceiling void but how often is it needed? What does research tell us about this?

3 – Give time and budget to meaningful post-occupancy evaluations and response. If we want to create hospitals that respond to the needs of our community, we need to see how they work in practice before we can fully develop them.

Read Jamie’s full article here.