hospital designing

[hashimshuja]

what are important aspects of hospital desiging which an architect should consider?

[RWL]

Flow of patients; flow of visitors; flow of staff; flow of materials; relationships of these with services, units, departments, etc.

Check hospital planning books-- www.amazon.com or AIA

[lekizz]

It can also depend on the size and type of hospital. And different countries have different approaches to hospital design. Please say more, hashimshuja.

[mx2]

Definitely recommend the AIA standardized "Guidelines" since they did gather a vast amount of information that is recognized and adopted as minimum standards in the U.S. It's like an architects Graphic Standards specializing in Hospitals and other medical centers...

That said, the flow and relationships for functions, use, privacy, security, effeciency, cleanliness, etc, etc is an absolute minimum as well. I also would add that equipment (sizes, utility requirements, usage, etc) and strict requirements for air quality when using exhaust and fresh air intakes, lighting, not to mention medical air or other specialized items needed...oh, and of course fire safety, accessibility issues and other code minimums...

...and then you start to design something beautiful.

mx2

[hashimshuja]

Problem that i m facing is that i live in an under developed country (Pakistan), where there are no specific standards. And the mostly hospital designed here are in bad shape and not at all good examples to follow.
so, while designing in such a situation would not only require to look for functions and services only, but also the local culture and habits are important as well. For instance majority are iliterate, that would mean that sign board saying that this is an Orthopeadic dept. would mean nothing to them and would not reduce their stress. So, while designing a good vicinity I would also have to develop symbols which would tell about a particular department.

[lekizz]

I agree hashimshuja, the tightly controlled highly regulated environments in US and UK hospitals are not necessarily the best solution in all cases. Other developed countries allow and encourage natural light and ventilation wherever possible.

On a large UK hospital project we gave each department a colour and a symbol. The decor and particularly the Nurse Base receptions adopted that colour. My local General Hospital uses coloured lines along the floor to guide patients to the correct place.

[Architorture]

on large hospital developments you have to get used to the idea that all the 'design' is going to happen in the lobby and the main entrance...

for the rest of the hospital the functions and flows are so indoctrined to the healthcare industry that alot of the design is already taken care of in terms of space planning...

for the majority of the space in the hospital you will probably have patient rooms and nursing stations for which there is a magical ratio that seems to work.... each nursing station can basically support around 20-30 beds...

then you don't want to have visitors or patients forced to walk through numerous nursing stations for the sake of convenience and secuity... this is why you often see the same 3 or 4 arrangements for large hospital developments...usually showing wings radiating off of a core of some kind...

of course most of this pertains to large hospital developments... it sounds that you may be more interested in a smaller out patient based health care facility... you should be able to find many examples of these by researching various charitable institutions or the UN and what their field hospitals look like and are organized in many impoverished areas around the world... since there is often a language and culture barrier these might act as a good model to create a culturally and linguistically benign environment

[mx2]

hashim,

if you're still lurking about, I still recommend at the least, reviewing the main points of these guideleines because although they do get into issues such as "air quality" of mechanical systems, they mostly focus around the functions and space layouts of the specific desciplines. For example, endoscopic procedures require a dressing room, space for gurneys, a doorway to accommodate the gurneys, space around the gurney o all 4 sides, location for mdeical air, etc, a rest area for patient recovery, a cleaning station, break room, medical records, reception desk and waiting area...as a minimum.

But beyond these relationships of space, is what you touched upon, which is signage. I have heard of many makeshift solutions that are adopted by necessity, in accordance to local traditions and comprehension. But essentially they all use just about the same principles: color coding, universal imagery (man vs. woman, etc), and delineation. One simple strategy was to cordon off areas with colored rope/tape, which patients were directed at a reception/entrance that was quite visible oriented as a reception area. But bottom line is to be flexible and make adjustments that fit the specific needs of the patients.

It reminds me of an old technique, where after a building was completed, no walkways were built. After a few weeks, the builders would come back and pave over the paths that visitors naturally created...

mx2