Description

The compelling design concept for the Princess Máxima Center with its numerous communal areas and play corners in the patient rooms aims not just to make the young patients’ stay as pleasant and free from anxiety as possible. It also includes a specially developed area for parents with a separate bathroom – an interesting variation on the idea of rooming-in that will for sure become even more relevant in future.

The Princess Máxima Center is a centre for healthcare and research in one that focusses on treating children with cancer. At a size of 45,000 m², it is the largest paediatric oncology centre in Europe. Developed in cooperation with Kopvol, the spatial concept aims to create a place where young patients feel safe and can spend time with their parents and relatives with primary focus on their recovery. The wards consist exclusively of single rooms, to which a guest room is connected. A sliding door connects the two areas of the room and creates a visual link between the two sleeping areas but two bathrooms and separate entrances from the ward corridor mean that they can also be used independently and flexibly.

Pergola-like balconies, most of which are arranged around the inner courtyards, provide a connection with outdoors from each room and are reached through the parents’ room so that children cannot go outside unattended. There are also specially designed communal areas for different age groups that address the different interests and needs of the children and promote social interaction between them. In addition, spaces are provided for cooking and socialising at the dining table and for playing together with visiting grandparents. These facilities contribute to the homely atmosphere of the Princess Máxima Center.

Each patient room has a nurses’ workplace with a washbasin and adequate storage for materials, and the bathrooms for the patients are barrier-free with sliding doors. In addition to parental supervision from the neighbouring space, a glass door and an additional window ensure optimal visibility of the bed area from the corridor. Nurses can oversee the patient from the workstation next to the entrance to each room. From here they can record patient data without needing to return to a central nurses’ station, avoiding the risk of potential mix-ups. By making it possible to access the digital patient record right next to the patient room, no unnecessary equipment need be brought into the room.

The parents’ area is understandably more simply equipped, but an integral refrigerator offers a level of comfort appropriate for longer stays. The low window sills are articulated as benches with storage boxes beneath in which toys can be stowed. Patients have a good view of the courtyards and outdoor areas, whose playfully designed playgrounds are intended to encourage children to romp in the fresh air.

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Originally published in: Wolfgang Sunder, Julia Moellmann, Oliver Zeise, Lukas Adrian Jurk, The Patient Room, Birkhäuser, 2020.