Private Hospital Villeneuve d’Ascq

Cor Wagenaar, Noor Mens

Description

In the history of healthcare architecture, Lille plays a remarkable role. Paul Nelson’s rejected project for Cité Hospitalière and Jean Walter’s realized design for the same institution stand out as landmarks of the new ways of thinking that were explored in the 1930s. Likewise, the 225-bed private hospital designed by Jean-Philippe Pargade strives to break new ground. It replaces two older facilities. Before thinking about the new building, the board decided to hire people specialized in programming, prompting them to define new ways of working. Convincing the staff that it would pay off to actively engage in this process, the hospital board managed to use their expertise to define which of their professional skills cannot be transferred to other staff and how to form operational units that can perform the specific tasks assigned to them. The building should accommodate these units wherever their services are needed.

Situated between a residential area and a commercial zone, the architecture pays reference to both, its size apparently negotiating between the scale of the boxes and that of the houses in the periphery of Villeneuve d’Ascq. The design language of the building is clearly that of modernism, but the black bricks that dominate most of the exterior pay tribute to local vernacular architecture. Pargade, winner of the design competition, made a rectangular box pierced with windows that incorporate a floral printed pattern. They form a pictorial composition that strengthens the visual image of the hospital. The most remarkable feature of the ground floor is a glazed gallery that is accessible from the main, two-storied entrance hall that emulates a hotel lobby. Inserting small interior gardens allows natural light to pervade the entire building, also illuminating the operating theaters. With ten operating theaters and 225 inpatient beds, 42 of them in the maternity ward, the hospital appears to have the proper size for a facility that is specifically intended as a node in a gradually evolving network. The hospital also includes a remarkably modest outpatient clinic with only 30 beds. The general layout of the three floors is very similar, the main principle being that of a geometrical, compact comb. The horizontal organization of the medical procedures allows for proximity and visibility between the departments and reduces the need for traffic and transportation. On the ground floor the imaging and consultation spaces are located on the front side of the building; radiotherapy, chemotherapy, pharmacy, the logistical services and the restaurant line the back façade, and the emergency department occupies the west side. The first floor accommodates the maternity department and outpatient functions on one side and on the other obstetrics and operating theaters. Surgery is located on the second floor, cardiology on the third. Soft colors dominate the interior. Different levels of hotel services are being offered, the most luxurious rooms being equipped with a sleeping couch for visitors; compared to the previous facilities, the number of single bedrooms has increased. Meals can be ordered à la carte. The signage system has been designed by Dominique Pierzo Conseil and is similar to systems used in airports. The wayfinding system is based on numbers – a simple and effective means that prevents the use of incomprehensible medical terms and avoids the confusion associated with changing names of departments. The character of the new building can be described in four words: modern, aesthetic, functional and technological; the hospital board consistently refers to it as ‘an outil’, a tool. This tool is an important step toward redefining the hospital landscape of tomorrow.