The consortium of designers AAPROG, Boeckx & Partners, BURO II& ARCHI+I won the design competition for a non-profit hospital with wellness facilities for vzw Gezondheidszorg Oostkust. The new hospital in Knokke-Heist at the Belgian coast boasts of 20 hectares area to be dedicated to a hospital, rehabilitation center, care hotel, outpatients’ clinic, lecture halls, space for public events and a helicopter-landing platform for added facility of air-ambulance. The design had to brave conditions of being unique, with state-of-the-art functionality but remain rooted to its rural personality and sustainability.
The winning plan of the group efficiently augment natural settings to interior conveniences and promise that within a few years of operation the hospital will stand out in its design and service in the industry. The floating design of the wellness facility is principally dominated by light and nature even in the technical rooms in the below the ground levels. The design team has named it the “living architecture” as it brings together the sustainable strategy and natural backdrop coupled with renewable energy and construction materials.
Open discussions by all the partners right through all stages of the proposal of design, planning, commissioning and future evolution has given the whole project a unique solidarity of purpose and competence. The team busted myths about traditional sterile hospitals and focused on conformity of health functions, social interactions, personal support and encouragement. They have devised a relationship between the care facilities in the interior and the outdoor public spaces to remain effectively continuous and uninterrupted thus creating a friendly and pleasant surrounding.
Other than BURO II, Boeckx & Partners and AAPROG, the design team also comprises of Ingenium (techniques), Greisch (stability), SCES (stability), Daidalos (building physics), EVR-architects (sustainable building), Paul Deroose (landscape architecture), Van Santen & Associés (gevceltechnologie) and Marleen Wynants (Interdisciplinary coordination).
