As part of the Indigo Consortium, schmidt hammer lassen architects has won the competition to design the New Aalborg University Hospital in Northern Jutland, Denmark – a project of € 551.5 million. The new hospital, which is part of a governmental health reform, comprises a 330,000 m2 masterplan with 134,500 m2 hospital buildings and 17,000 m2 for the Faculty of Health Science of Aalborg University. The Indigo Consortium consists of schmidt hammer lassen architects, Aarhus Arkitekterne, Creo Arkitekter and four consulting engineering companies: Brix & Kamp, Oluf Jørgensen, NNE Pharmaplan and Royal Haskoning. The consortium is backed up by sub-consultants Norconsult, Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue, Implement and Bjørk & Maigaard.
“The overall architectural approach of the winning proposal is to design the hospital with maximum attention on the individual user – the citizen,” said Partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects Mr. Kim Holst Jensen, and he continued: ”In the design, special attention has been paid to creating optimal conditions to support the comfort it gives when you know that your loved ones are in good hands. Special attention has been paid to creating physical surroundings which are poetic and spatially diverse so the overall experience becomes less formal, less institutional and less impersonal.“
The winning design merges the new hospital complex with the sloping landscape in a smooth transition from the existing Aalborg University. The concept of the new masterplan is to create an urban structure where streets, paths and courtyards form greatly diverse spaces, while referring to the human scale in both the buildings and the spaces in between.
“The architectural idea is to enhance the characteristics of the existing landscape and to create synergy between the different functions of the hospital,” explained Kim Holst Jensen. “The durable masterplan offers not only a maximum of flexibility in regards to future extensions but also meets the ambition of offering views and ample daylight in the whole structure for patients, relatives and staff.”
The characteristics of the existing landscape are used to structure the hospital in a way where functions, such as the outpatient clinic, are situated with an entrance from East at ground floor level. In the levels above, with direct connection to the higher positioned terrain towards West, the emergency functions are placed. In this way the different work-flows are clearly separated while the closeness of the functions is maintained. The bed wards are placed with vertical connection to the inner street and all main functions.
”The functions are tied together by an inner street which is the vital connection in the whole structure,” said Associate Partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects, Kasper Frandsen. ”By carefully placing the different functions in relation to each other, we fulfill the ambition of closeness while supporting both a well-planned continuity of care and interdisciplinary knowledge sharing in the clinical work.”
The judges’ report states: “The architecture is clear and meets the request of a hospital which offers a humane and spatial experience. The team has succeeded in creating a functional hospital with references to the human scale in both the interior and the exterior.”
schmidt hammer lassen architects won the competition to design the extension of Kolding Hospital in 2010 among others with Creo Arkitekter, who are also part of the consortium in Aalborg.