architecture buzz!!

Architect | C. F. Møller Architects, who won the commission via an international competition in 2000.
Photographer| Torben Eskerod

Norway’s new super-hospital opens

Akershus University Hospital sets new standards in hospital buildings, with an architecture that is informed by the firm determination to place the patient in the centre and secure plenty of daylight, massive operational savings and hi-tech logistics solutions. The hospital, which was designed by C. F. Møller Architects, opened officially 1 October.
“For nine years, right from the competition proposal to the final realisation, this project has filled our working days. It feels almost like when a child moves away from home. You feel proud and sad at the same time,” says Klavs Hyttel, partner in C. F. Møller Architects and the architect who has led the project.

The new university hospital is not a traditional institution building; it is a friendly, informal place with open and comprehensible surroundings oriented towards the patients and their relatives.

“Security is a byword in hospital construction,” continues Klavs Hyttel. “The concept of security should encompass both efficiency, technology and the familiar patterns of the daily routine. It is through this balancing act that we have created the architectural attitude of the building.”

Wholeness and variation
The hospital’s various departments all differ in their dimensions, form and expression. The wards have one kind of architectural expression, while the treatment departments have another, and the children’s clinic has an expression all its own. This helps to create a varied visual experience, while at the same time making it easy to find your way around.

The design of the complex reveals the influence of the high priority given to daylight for all workplaces, views of the surrounding landscape, and contact with the outside environment. A glass-covered main thoroughfare, in which wood is the dominating material, links the various buildings and functions. This glass street forms the hospital’s main arterial route, and is structured as a series of open spaces of differing character, offering various functions such as kiosk, pharmacy, hairdresser, church and café.

The short distances between the functions, the clear organisation and the modern technology give the staff more time for their patients.

No related posts.