Insight
Building quickly and safely on a dense plot : modular prefab for hospitals
Case study - ZMK
Designing a hospital based on a layered model
The new Maas & Kempen hospital, inaugurated in 2017 in Maaseik, is the first health facility in Belgium designed according to the “layer model”, a building layout based on functional hubs. With a capacity of 226 beds, the complex offers a real healing environment, a jewel of well-being housed in the heart of the countryside.
Maas & Kempen Hospital
Description
Construction of a 226-bed general hospital
Responsible
Lieven De Vadder
Partners
GAF
-STABO
Location
Maaseik
Client
Ziekenhuis Maas & Kempen
Area
32.000 m²
Thinking sustainable real estate
Built in 33 months, we designed this project around five separate entities: the hotel that houses the care units, the hot floor that includes clinical support services, the office that brings together the outpatient and administration departments, and the factory which centralises logistics. The five hubs are linked by a central reception hub, which is the starting point for walkways with large openings onto the surrounding landscape.
This layered model allows each cluster to develop relatively autonomously from the hospital as a whole. It has many immediate benefits compared to the “monoblock” model, including financial savings and speed of construction. Designed according to the principles of circular economy, the masterplan already takes into account future extensions, but also considers possible reassignments of each building in the long term, potentially extending the working life of the hospital.
Integrating with the landscape
The hospital is on the edge of Maaseik, a small town in Limburg. The layered model allowed us to design a set of buildings of modest scale. Thanks to their low height, the buildings integrate perfectly with the semi-urban landscape and mix with the natural environment. This harmonious integration into the landscape along with the abundance of natural light, found everywhere from operating theatres to connecting walkways, provides a soothing and healing hospital environment.
The Maas & Kempen Hospital embodies our vision of the regional hospital of tomorrow: flexible, based around hubs and perfectly integrated into its environment.
A setting for a greater well-living
We have given each functional hub a specific structure and style, to help users find their way around – as shown in the varied treatment applied to the facades. The clear and bright appearance of the whole, emphasised by a range of clean colours and smooth materials, ensures a uniform look. The entrance to the hospital is through a large public forecourt, thanks to the open spaces between the structures imagined in the masterplan.
The contemporary and understated atmosphere of the reception is dominated by warm hues of Accoya wood and natural slate. The curtain wall, largely glazed, is decorated with a work of art in coloured glass. We designed the accommodation units on a truncated cone plan, intended to facilitate people circulating through the development as well as provide impromptu meeting and reception areas. We also paid special attention to the double rooms, where the beds face each other to offer each patient a direct view of the surrounding environment..
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