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It is located in the center of Copenhagen, Denmark, Regchuspitalt It was already one of the largest and most prominent university hospitals in the country when it set out to add a 700,000 square foot ward. Among the project’s goals was to create a daylight-driven design that would provide an inspiring environment for staff and patients and an adaptable environment to support future working conditions for medical staff, says Mate Dan Whipple, M.D., director of health care at link engineering (Copenhagen) that designed the project with 3XN (Copenhagen).
The solution was to design the north wing as a series of folded V-shaped structures that are linked together by a central aisle. Dan-Weibel says the curvy shape serves several purposes: It increases access to daylight and views of the greenery outside; Ensures proximity between functions and collaborative departments, such as surgery, recovery, and the intensive care unit (ICU), thus improving walking distances and working conditions for employees; It allows separate traffic flows on and off stage.
Completed in January 2020, the new addition includes 209 patient rooms (including 196 private rooms), 33 operating rooms, a neurological and neurosurgery intensive care unit with 20 private ICU rooms and 10 recovery beds, and outpatient clinics.
Organizationally, the V-shaped structures create five arcades that serve as recreational spaces for patients as well as directional signs to facilitate route identification. Helical staircases and four central elevator towers connect the patient and outpatient clinic to the central common area, while waiting areas are located close to two staircases on each floor. To further simplify the trend, a custom color scheme is assigned to each floor applied to selected doors, floors, and walls, while artwork is placed in strategic locations, including lobbies, lobbies, and high-traffic areas.
Looking towards the future, the design offers standard rooms that can be easily used for different functions. For example, office spaces are built with the same structure as operating rooms to move into surgical spaces or intensive care units, if necessary. Overall, Dan-Weibel says keeping the needs of patients and staff front and center helped the project team provide an optimal environment. “The welfare of the patients and the working environment of the medical staff guided the design of the project,” he adds.
