Groningen, Netherlands

New Martini Hospital in Groningen

nominated for World Architecture Building of the year

Flexibity is currently one of the most important factors in an ever mutating healthcare environment where rapid developments in medical technology make it difficult to predict the future. That is why it is import to design a hospital now, that will last for the next forty years and can easily adapt itself to an unknown future.

It is for this reason that the concepts of the IFD programme spearheaded the design of The New Martini Hospital in Groningen, The Netherlands for which it was awarded demonstration status and a grant from the Dutch Government.

The following is a brief explanation of the Dutch IFD programme: The IFD programme was started by various Dutch ministries including housing, environment and economic affairs as an initiative to encourage innovation in the building sector.

The I stands for Industrial which is prefabrication and standardization of building products. This introduces a high degree of modularity in the design. Here construction becomes assembly. The F stands for Flexible. A building must be designed in such a way that it can be easily changed.

Here renovation becomes relocation. The D stands for Demountable. Building components are joined in such a way that they can be easily be demounted without damage and reused else where. Here demolition becomes disassembly.

Flexible Site Development Strategy

With the design for the Martini Hospital the new building is positioned next to a building that is already halfway through it’s 40 year lifespan with the expectation that it will not be invested in for the next 20 years. This replacement can then happen through a new building. This line can be pulled through to a period over 40 years when the now-to-be-built building is ready to be replaced in 2047. In this way there will always be space on the site to develop. Another possible choice exists in 20 years time, when the existing building will be demolished and the new building is ready for a large renovation. It is possible that this site could become a top location in Groningen which could yield enough money that it would be more advantageous to build new in a more accessible place in Groningen. It is possible to make the new building adaptable for more functions. It is also possible, for example, to situate offices there or even the possibility to accommodate about 250 housing units exists.

Uniformity

It is always difficult to predict what functionality must be accommodated for in a hospital building with a set lifespan of 40 years. This was our point of departure for the design. For this reason we chose a uniform building block which, in a general sense, complies with the demands of safety, natural daylight, structure, services and floor planning.

The design brief was tested on a number of important frequently occurring departments such as general nursing and outpatient clinic. This investigation resulted in the “ideal” dimensions of a 60×16m for a building block with an area of approximately 1,000m².

A uniform building block therefore acquired a useful aspect in that it could be functionally totally interchangeable in the design phase as well as later on once the building is being used. A nursing department can be converted to an outpatient clinic or offices.

Also extensions can be randomly hung on the facade to gain extra floor area so that also bigger departments can be accommodated. The only fixed elements are the services shafts which always remain in the middle of the block. All floor layouts are based on an efficient 300mm grid. The elevations have also been designed to allow for flexible wall positions. Windows and mullions have been positioned to line up with this 300mm grid.

Through an urban planning study, these building blocks have been positioned and linked in such a way that has given the building two main forms: a “zigzag” which integrates with the two directions of the surrounding buildings and a curved form which ‘leads’ the way along the curved road.

Credits

Client: Martini Ziekenhuis

Architects: Burger Grunstra Architecten

Projet Manager: AT Osborne

Interior Design: Interieurs enzo maupertuus

Europaconcorsi Beta

New Martini Hospital in Groningen