Healthcare promenade
The new hospital is located in the northwest of the Gasthuis site, while the southwest is reserved for future residential development. To the southeast is the existing Zuiderpoort building, with a new parking garage for staff located directly north. On the northeastern side are the existing buildings for the outpatient clinics: the Boerhaave building, the laboratory building, and the SAHZ building. The logistics area will be situated between the SAHZ building and the staff carpark. To connect the hospital with the existing outpatient clinics, the logistics yard, and the staff carpark, a corridor will be built. Furthermore, green spaces will be integrated between these buildings. An entrance square will be created integrally between the new building and the visitor parking garage. Together, these elements will form the Healthy Valley, blending these features together.
The Healthy Valley will be a strong concept for the Gasthuis site and is a continuation of the green corridor from Schalkwijk Midden. The Valley is expected to wrap around and fit between the buildings, ending at the hospital building. By branching out into green fingers between the hospital, we prevent the expansive green valley from ending in limited green sightlines.
Clear functional division
The clear functional separation between the upper (clinical inpatient departments including the Women and Children’s Center) and lower floors (intensive medical procedures) is also reflected in the structure (hybrid structure) and architecture.
The substructure of the hospital will be made of concrete due to the large spans, heavy robust equipment, and limited research regarding the use of timber for such modular spaces. For the lower floors, we designed a rhythmic brick facade that blends harmoniously with the surroundings while expressing its own identity.
The superstructure is characterized by smaller spaces and stacked identical departments, allowing for repetition. Two characteristics where timber construction offers advantages: it is more efficient for smaller spans, can be prefabricated and assembled on-site, shortening construction time and reducing costs. Timber construction is also fully demountable and reusable. For the facade of the upper floors, we developed a clean, clear structure that reflects the lightness of the timber construction. The ratio of open and closed elements follows the floor plan. The glass ratio is a result of the functions directly behind the facades.
Separation between public and staff areas
On the ground floor, there is a clear separation between the public area, which includes the entrance, food court, supermarket, and other amenities, and the staff area. The staff area is centrally located within the building and is connected to all the ‘backdoors’ of the departments, optimizing the workflow. As a visitor or patient, you can always reach the right place via a public connection without having to walk around the building. Patios provide ample daylight to the functions of the substructure. The view of greenery encourages movement, both for staff and patients. By always having a view to the outside in the corridors, it becomes easier for staff and visitors to orient themselves.
Separation of flows
In the substructure, several dedicated cores are positioned so that the flows of staff, logistics, clinical transport, and other logistics are kept as separate as possible. Additionally, these flows are separated from public traffic by the centrally located staff axis and a separate public circulation route along the perimeter of the building. Department hubs along the staff axis ensure shorter distances for staff and logistics. The superstructure is characterized by a double courtyard, centrally accessible through two separate vertical cores: a public core and a logistical/clinical core. The layout of the courtyards is set up according to mirror symmetry, allowing the units to be arranged identically.
