Use and maintenance
The work isn’t done when the hospital opens. After all, that’s the start of a long period in which the design is tested in reality. Logistics and all ICT must function smoothly, and services have to work properly. A facility management system may be needed. The building is like a machine that works the way it was designed. And this machine needs proper, planned maintenance. A building manual helps.
Dutch Hospital Design foresees the need to anticipate alterations because of the time between analysis and construction. Such alterations are no problem because the system can easily adapt. Dutch Hospital Design can accompany and advise you throughout this interesting period of operation.
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Next generation
In thinking about a new hospital, Dutch Hospital Design is very aware that it will be used by the next generation. That is why we conceive many future scenarios, and the new building must accommodate them all. In view of its calculated lifespan, the design of a Next Generation Hospital must take the next generation into account. After all, the building is geared to next generation occupants with a next generation mentality.
That can only be achieved if we focus on the future. But the future is hard to predict, especially in a time of accelerated change. The answer must be a future-proof building. It must be sustainable, smart, flexible, high-quality and supported by ICT. And of course it must be a building that is a pleasure to work and stay in.
Next generation hospital
To create such a building, Dutch Hospital Design seeks a high level of ICT support. Various computer and simulation models facilitate process and construction innovation. We begin by defining the working procedures in the hospital and end with the facility management of the building through ICT. The help of a Building Information Model (BIM) plays a determinative role here. It not only contributes to a high level of spatial insight into the building but also supports all sorts of decisions about investment and operating costs, energy, logistics and so on.
With over ten years experience using BIM, we are among the leaders in the field in Europe.
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Architecture
We view architectural design as a search for the potential beauty contained within the commission. The way in which we conduct this search is very important for us. We do it through extensive analysis and its conceptual translation into a design. That means it is solidly grounded, and every spatial problem leads by definition to a particular spatial solution.
Architectural design for hospitals
The power lies in systematic and analytic thinking that spawns a creative and specific solution. We examine complex issues such as function, sustainability, space, time and financing to arrive at and visualize suitable and feasible solutions. Moreover, we are very ambitious about adding quality to the public domain. In building for the healthcare sector, DHD has gained experience in everything from assisted living facilities to hospitals, and in the process is always working to make buildings that stand the test of time (i.e. are sustainable). A lot of study is needed for that, as is a high level of ambition within each project.
The great international interest in our work shows that its significance extends beyond the Netherlands. It is for that reason that we are working on healthcare projects from the Netherlands to Australia.
Contact: Arnold Burger, architect
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Dutch Design
Dutch Design refers the design aesthetic that is specific to designers from the Netherlands. It is renowned for being minimalist, conceptual, innovative, unconventional, humorous and cost effective.
Dutch Design finds expression in a combination of high quality architecture, buildings with a soul, significance for the city, efficiency, high standards for an affordable price, sustainability, and feet on the ground. In the area that the Netherlands has at its disposal, Dutch architects face the tough challenge of making maximum use of limited space. That often entails thinking out of the box‚ because standard solutions are frequently very inadequate. This often leads to new concepts and solutions, which would not have been achieved without the limitations. That is about the result.
But Dutch Design also includes particular characteristics of the process needed to reach that result. The Dutch process to design a hospital is characterized by creating widespread support for the project, particularly in terms of function, through extensive consultation with hospital staff. Consultation ensures that the design responds to the organization and how it works. Achieving support through consultation is often referred to as the ‘polder model’, because people must agree with the plan for a polder and then collaborate on its construction.
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Services
We can draw on vast expertise in the area of climate services, electricity and lighting, measurement and regulation systems, fire safety, communication and ICT systems. Not only up-to-date know-how but also insight into the future. That enables us to elaborate a Next Generation Hospital. Establishing a solid basis in the analysis and concept phases enables us to develop a hospital that is flexible enough to accommodate all imaginable future changes. Flexible services lengthen the lifespan of hospital property and enhance its value.
Sustainability in design
A sustainable hospital is the result of an integral design process. All disciplines are of equal stature in these processes. The main consideration is always to select those solutions that have minimum impact on the environment. Through creativity and belief in the future of our planet, we even develop solutions that enhance the environment. Buildings that generate energy and facades and roofs that purify the air are just some of the possibilities of a Next Generation Hospital. The full use of Building Information Modelling as a tool and the right organization and mindset of all people involved means that a sustainable hospital is no longer a utopian dream.
Maintaining that mindset during the construction and use of the hospital results in a highly sustainable hospital and a healthier environment for man and beast.
Contact: Theo de Boer, M&E designer
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Flexibility
Society is changing rapidly, and the healthcare sector even faster. Building for the healthcare sector means looking as far as possible into the future. But isn’t a building’s lifespan far too long for that? Dutch Hospital Design considers uncertainty about the future as our only certainty.
But what to build when nothing stays the same? However, not everything changes. The physical needs and possibilities of people have remained the same for thousands of years. As one of the most important aspects of sustainability, flexibility must be the answer based on smart solutions combined with design principles based on the primary needs of human beings, such as natural daylight, orientation and safety. Dutch Hospital Design sees making future scenarios as the way to prepare for uncertainty.
Flexibility in design
Scenarios translate the impact of trends in society, the medical profession and technology into requirements for alterations to a building in the future. The building should meet different demands in terms of initial flexibility, flexibility of the design during the building process, flexibility to change the function of parts of the building during its lifespan, and flexibility to extend or reduce the size of the building. Then we translate flexibility into integrated technical and smart solutions such as floors, facades and industrial prefabricated partition walls.
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Structures
It is self-evident that structures must be safe. Structures must be sufficient over their expected lifespan. Our design philosophy is to detail buildings that are resilient enough to withstand calamities and guarantee the safety of their occupants without the need for heavy and expensive structures.
Structural design
Experience teaches us that every twenty years a hospital needs a complete renovation of its architecture and installation technology. However, the load-bearing structure is expected to survive a full fifty years and outlive various renovations. It is therefore vital to make choices with designers from other disciplines so that the building can withstand future alterations. The prevention of new construction is a very sustainable measure.
As structural designers, we want the structure to do more than just support. Integrating the structure with installations, for example, and ensure easy access to them, is an efficient solution for a more constant climate and a lower building height.
Contact: Roel de Jong, structural designer
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Healing Environment
Reducing stress by embracing daylight and introducing vistas to the surrounding landscapes, in which nature plays a significant role, has a positive influence on the recovery of patients.
Healing environment design
Nature is healthy. Everybody enjoys a stroll through greenery now and again. Research has shown that not only being in nature, but also looking at nature benefits our health. We take that into consideration in the siting of a building. The relationship between inside and outside frames particular views, determines how much daylight penetrates the building and defines how much visual contact there is between the building and its surroundings and the people engaged in activities outdoors.
These views of beautifully designed outdoor spaces invite use, encourage people outside, and stimulate a desire to be outdoors. Then the building itself. Orientation in a hospital is often difficult, especially in a large building. As an example, uncertainly about which route to follow creates stress and lowers one’s ability to absorb the words of the doctor. But what is even more important is to design a good environment for staff to work pleasantly, so that they can concentrate their efforts on the wellbeing of patients.
Dutch Hospital Design offers the possibility to use a Healing Environment design chart, that helps to discuss and analyze all aspects of designing a healing environment.
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Supporting disciplines and partners
Designing a hospital is a complex process in which complex decisions have to be taken. To consider all aspects before taking a decision at the highest level, one needs advice from several additional specialists.
DHD can provide the right specialists in the areas of Facility Management, Healing Environment Consultancy, Medical Equipment, ICT, Change Management, Cost Management, Financial Consultancy and so on. DHD cooperates intensively with a range of specialists working in the field of hospital organization and hospital design.
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