Chicago Studio
ARCH 572 | Spring 2017
Clinical Associate Professor Willilam Worn
Description:
This studio was taught in our Chicago Studio with significant input from practicing architects, healthcare providers and constructors.
Opportunity
A new private Medical City is planned for the City of Jahra. Kuwait. The Medical City is in response to overall population growth; the move of ex-pats from public to private healthcare settings and an increasing elderly population; and an overall increase in cases of non-communicable disease. The Medical City is currently being Master Planned by CannonDesign.
Program
In response to the rapidly growing need for hospital and ambulatory care this studio designed a Western style general hospital in Jahra, Kuwait. The hospital program includes inpatient care; diagnostic and therapeutic services; administrative and public areas; support services; and outpatient clinics accommodated in approximately 1,100,000 GSF. The program for the Medical City contains a private, General Hospital with Centers of Excellence, Outpatient clinics, Support
Services and Laboratory functions. Though inpatient beds are focused on select specialties and services related to the centers of excellence, the medical city is designed to serve a full range of specialties in its ambulatory clinics.
Site
The project site for this new Medical City is located within the city of Jahra, which is located roughly 20 miles West of Kuwait City. Jahra is the capital city of the government district Al Jahra. Al Jahra is the largest government district of Kuwait. It is home to the majority of the agriculture and desert landscape in the country, as well as large amounts of industry.
Issues
Students learned contemporary hospital design best practices with emphasis on the specifics of clinical flows; patient safety; access to nature; the place of advanced clinical technologies; and evidence based design interventions. Additionally, the implications of gender segregation was examined within a culture of growing economic inequity.