Architecture Thesis::Hospital Design

Hi guys. I'm having problems with my thesis. Mainly on it's building form and orientation. See, my thesis is a 75-bed hospital, with focuses on disaster resiliency and bioclimatic concepts. I might have failed on choosing the best site for my thesis, but I had very limited options then as there was barely available site in the area that fits the land use.

So I ended up with a very narrow and rectangular 77m x 200m lot, with the shorter length oriented facing north where it also meets the main (and the only!) access road. On the further end is a 20m-wide river.

See, I'm not a very gifted student in design. I've struggled for the most part of my college life, and very grateful to have come this far. I need your help guys! I'm feeling desperate at this point. I've made different schemes but I'm feeling really doubtful about it. Feeling down at the moment remembering how my first deliberation went. It was terrible. I need your help guys. Your suggestions will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

P.S. I'm considering to build it up on stilts-as suggested by one of my thesis jury. And any suggestions on how I could make it work with a short facade? thanks and more power!

Sincerely,
Miserable Me

mahirap nga yung site mo na pahaba...at tama yung jury mo na i-stilts mo na lang para ventilation na din coming from the floor...kung isang malaking structure ang gagawin mo parang ang off naman sa tingin ko applicable dito yung sinabi ng thesis adviser ko na sa Pilipinas hindi bagay ang isang mega-structure sa malaking lote kasi nga i-sasacrifice mo yung comfort ng users, bakit hindi mo gawing clustered yung mga building mo diyan?? IMHO lang... in your thesis

I don't think na hindi maganda ang site mo. It's like it's just perfect. Gaano lang ba kakapal ang building, double loaded is 15m-20m think, that's 2 meters for the corridor plus 6m-9m per room on both sides. Just establish a good facade. gawin mong L or U ang building mo if you like. consider taking 50m-70m of you frontage as facade kung gusto mong kitang kita ka sa road. the orientation is not bad either. perfect for cross ventilation and natural lighting. Just make use of sunshading device for the harsh afternoon sun.

Stilts is not a problem din. all buildings could be on stilts. just tear down the walls, stilts na agad yun. but make sure you still use the floor below and give a reason why should it be on stilts.

the river at the back is just perfect. create a view corridor and a garden at the back to compliment the river.

now your only problem is how to make use of your bioclimatic concepts. disaster resilient is just a matter of planning. good luck! you're almost there.

Sirs, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Very much appreciated. I tried to present a clustered scheme the other day pero my adviser shrugged the idea off. Standard na daw kasi ang layout ng hospital, at gayahin ko nalang daw yung layout na ibang hospitals (confusing). But I think what she meant was to just create a single structure, similar to how most hospitals have the same zone layout. So I'm redesigning my scheme. I was actually fired up with ideas even after how the consultation went the other day. It was really bad. My adviser almost had a heart attack. Kidding. But thanks to your suggestions. I guess wala talagang perfect scheme, by site development alone. I almost forgot that it's very much okay to add sun shading features if can't achieve passive cooling through orientation of buildings.

True enough, Sirs, I'm almost there!

I'm still going to make use of stilts in some areas. Kind of making it a semi-clustered development. Sana magwork.

.

You're attacking your thesis with hesitations and reservations that is why you can't see the benefits of your site.

If your building is facing east then you get the advantages of the morning sun. - http://www.personalpowertraining.net/Articles/the_health_benefits_of_sunlight.htm - I would use this as a weapon, if I were you. you don't see hospitals with sun lounges or balconies, do you? another plus point yan. i-develop mo na lang from here.

Also, here are some inspirations:

http://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/12/us-department-of-energy-installing-sun-wall/

http://sap.mit.edu/resources/portfolio/breathing_building/

kayang-kaya mo yan!! Ikaw pa!


P.S. I'm not sure about the stilts.... [It's a hospital]


.

.


Also, consult with the right persons. [Dapat nasa medical field.... ]



.

medyo off nga ang clustered sa site mo. remember you have a avery limited space. saka maliit lang yang 75bed sa cluster. kahit tertiary yan, it's like the smallest of the tertiary hospitals. If you study hospital design carefully sa 2nd year. you will notice how the space had to be very close para sa distance of travel ng isang pasyente from one place to another like operation or consultation, etc. also, very important din ang sanitation kaya hindi gaano feasible ang cross ventilation or tropical design. Baka macontaminate ang ibang pasyente lalo na sa airborne diseases. hindi ko din gaano maintindihan itong stilts na idea. sa hospital, the ground floor is the best area. pinakasaleable. pinakamahal. at pinakaaccesible. you need that area. why do you have to put it on stilts? bahain ba? may bangin ba dyan?

Know the basic idea how a hospital functions first before experimenting a new design method. the more simple you design, the more easy it is for jurors to understand the flow of the plan. dapat hindi complicated ang layout. dapat maganda ang flow ng tao. fire exits are very important. stairs and elevators must be enough to move people. ramps din. pero ok na ngayon kahit wala ng ramps from floor to floor, sa entrance nalang.

aralin mo din ang sterilized zones. operation rooms. icu, laboratories, etc. dapat strategic ang locations ng mga to. may mga accesible at meron din restricted. Yan palang ok ng thesis. even architects do not know most of these stuff. Kaya pag pumasa ka dito, pwede ka na magdesign ng hospital. good luck!

About the stilts, ugh, I know.:\ During the first deliberations I really didn't intend to use stilts as I planned to elevate my building nalang because the site is located in Malabon, hence bahain. But my professors kept pressing that I should use stilts instead. Ayun. I felt compelled to do it tuloy. Thing is, we didn't have hospital design until last year. So to my disadvantage, but I'm getting help from architects at DOH and St. Lukes.

Sirs, you guys have a point and are so right. I need more and more research to do. Hey thanks for the ideas!

Hello All.

nica17: Where can I review your project?

About me: I'm a healthcare architect located in San Francisco CA/USA.

FYI: I'm luv'n this site!

Kung last year lang ang hospital design nyo, that's even better kasi fresh pa ang ideas.

Stilts design is ok if you're doing it in malabon. I suggest that you start all transactions sa second floor. Make the ground floor a multi purpose area nalang. Pwede ka din magkaron ng standby rubber boats pala dyan.

If you have access sa DOH. All you need to do is ask for a copy of the basic guidelines in hospital design. That's all you need actually. Good luck ulit,

Pstephana wrote:Hello All.

nica17: Where can I review your project?

About me: I'm a healthcare architect located in San Francisco CA/USA.

FYI: I'm luv'n this site!

Welcome Pstephana! Great to have you onboard.

Sir/Ms. Pstephana, thank you for your response!

About my project:
It's a 75-bed Level 3, general hospital for Malabon City. In my previous posts are the site info and configuration. My concepts are disaster resiliency (with great emphasis on flooding) and bioclimatic design.

I'm currently doing my plans and site development for my initial consultation next week. I have to finish everything by then so my adviser could look it up for revisions. Will it be okay with you guys if I post my work here so you could give your thoughts about it? What not's and how to's?? Hehe. (Kahiya)
Thank you all in advance!

yup sure. mas makakatulong yun sa discussion.

Will it be okay with you guys if I post my work here so you could give your thoughts about it? What not's and how to's?? Hehe. (Kahiya)
Thank you all in advance!

Yah that would be better if you can post some of your sketches,plans,model.

You can refer to some DOH hospital design guidleines (kung meron man) things like Building Notes and Technical Memoranda.

Good luck!

kelan deliberation?
ano na pong status mo ngayon regarding your thesis?
what stage ka na ba?
when you're still on planning stage,
send me some plans to review,.
im an architect from st. luke's medical center.
hope i can help you..
goodluck sa thesis iha,..