A huge, complex project involving many facets of medical care and research in China is meant to be the vanguard hospital in a system of green-designed teaching hospitals to be built throughout the nation.
Designed by HMC Architects, the sprawling three million-sf Shunde Hospital of Southern Medical University, in China, is now open. It is the official pilot green hospital for development of China’s green guide for hospital design.
Completed in late 2017, the teaching hospital includes a 2,000-bed inpatient center, an ambulatory care center that can handle 6,000 patients daily, medical research and infectious disease buildings, and a cancer center.
HMC won the design contract for Shunde Hospital in a hotly contested international competition. The intent of the contest was to design a hospital that combines Western health care innovations with local Chinese practices.
The winning design was influenced by the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which affected thousands of people and killed hundreds in Southern China.
Sustainable design helped optimize the hospital’s building performance.
“Sustainable design is a relatively new concept for this region’s medical centers,” says Kirk Rose, AIA, DBIA, Chief Practice Officer, Healthcare, HMC. “Our solution organizes a series of buildings around a dynamic, curved spine to create an ‘eco-atrium’ that has the capacity to handle 7,000 outpatient visits per day while minimizing infection risks.”
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
The complex’s innovative design features include an outdoor plaza that reflect Shunde’s tradition of waterways and terracotta-making. It’s a green, open, welcoming space that is used by the entire community.
Natural ventilation, stack effect, and chilled structural beams address cooling needs of the complex, while solar fins and photovoltaics help reduce the building’s energy use.
A naturally ventilated five-story atrium, water recycling, and natural daylighting enhance the building’s green design. Locally sourced materials were used in the construction process.
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
Kiwi Information Technolgoy Co. Ltd., courtesy HMC Architects
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
Kiwi Information Technolgoy Co. Ltd.
Kiwi Information Technolgoy Co. Ltd.
David Wakely, courtesy HMC Architects
Related Stories
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 13, 2014
Debunking the 5 myths of health data and sustainable design
The path to more extensive use of health data in green building is blocked by certain myths that have to be debunked before such data can be successfully incorporated into the project delivery process.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 8, 2014
Massive ‘healthcare village’ in Nevada touted as world’s largest healthcare project
The $1.2 billion Union Village project is expected to create 12,000 permanent jobs when completed by 2024.
| Oct 3, 2014
Designing for women's health: Helping patients survive and thrive
In their quest for total wellness, women today are more savvy healthcare consumers than ever before. They expect personalized, top-notch clinical care with seamless coordination at a reasonable cost, and in a convenient location. Is that too much to ask?
| Sep 29, 2014
10 common deficiencies in aging healthcare facilities
VOA's Douglas King pinpoints the top issues that arise during healthcare facilities assessments, including missing fire/smoke dampers, out-of-place fire alarms, and poorly constructed doorways.
| Sep 25, 2014
Look to history warily when gauging where the construction industry may be headed
Precedents and patterns may not tell you all that much about future spending or demand.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 23, 2014
Cedars-Sinai looks to streamline trauma care with first-of-its-kind OR360 simulation space
The breakthrough simulation center features moveable walls and a modular ceiling grid that allow doctors and military personnel to easily reconfigure the shape and size of the space.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.