New Foster + Partners-designed hospital begins construction in Cairo

The Magdi Yacoub Heart Centre Cairo has begun construction. The project marks the newest outpost of the Aswan Heart Centre founded by Egyptian surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub and provides free treatment for the people of Egypt and those in sub-Saharan Africa.

The 300-bed hospital has views of the Pyramids of Giza and is set within a verdant landscape with a lake and seeks to optimize the overall patient experience and decrease recovery times. The site of the hospital borders the Zewail City of Science and Technology, forming part of an integrated health and medical research zone.

Cairo Hospital with Pyramids in the background

The ground floor comprises comprehensive diagnosis and treatment facilities, including an accident and emergency department, a large outpatient clinic, and rehabilitative departments. Several courtyards bring natural light into the building and aid orientation. The surgical department and intensive care units are co-located, minimizing the distance between “bed and bench” and maximizing collaboration between researchers and caregivers.

Eight intensive care units on the first floor are designed to optimize recovery. Each patient room on the ground level is oriented so the patients benefit from landscaped views and the newly formed lake on the northern edge. Prefabricated operating theaters feature carefully planned flows to ensure high clinical safety standards. The hospital will also feature support spaces for families, as well as classrooms and educational spaces for medical students. Single and shared patient rooms on the upper floors are sheltered by sculptural shell-like roof structures.

Cairo Hospital interior space

A green terrace on the second floor will provide break-out space for the staff and visitors. The open terrace is interspersed with built spaces containing a large staff canteen, children’s nurse, and other collaborative meeting spaces.

“This is a special project that focusses on giving the best care to the patients and offering them the best natural setting to recover in,” said Nigel Dancey, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, said in a release. “It brings together the latest research on biophilia and the positive impact of nature in clinical settings with our pioneering work on collaborative working environments that allow healthcare professionals to give the best care.”

Cairo hospital and lake

Cairo hospital exterior

For most of human history, design has mostly considered “typical users” who are fully able-bodied without clinical or emotional disabilities. The problem with this approach is that it offers a limited perspective on how space can positively or negatively influence someone based on their physical, mental, and sensory abilities.

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