This is a redevelopment plan for a 240-bed chronic care hospital in Sapporo. Chronic care hospitals typically accommodate elderly patients requiring long-term care—including those who are bedridden or suffering from dementia—as well as frail elderly individuals, and are characterized by long hospital stays. The goal of this plan was to create a space where residents can feel the changing seasons, maintain a positive outlook, and envision a return to their former lives.

Since the site is surrounded by low-rise residential areas, the building height was kept low, and the layout was designed to match the scale of the surrounding homes. The first floor, which houses the entrance, outpatient clinic, and support services, features a deep, snow-protected eave forming a covered walkway and a pilotis space running along the perimeter, designed to connect with the shopping street to the north and the main road to the east. The second and third floors house two 60-bed wards centered around a courtyard. By orienting all patient rooms to face the surrounding streets, we created an environment where patients are constantly aware of the community. The set-back fourth floor consolidates rehabilitation facilities, a multipurpose hall, and administrative offices, and features two rooftop terraces—one on the north and one on the south.

While it is common in hospital architecture to rely on controlled indoor air environments rather than natural ventilation, this hospital has actively taken patients on stretchers and in wheelchairs outdoors during the summer. Drawing inspiration from these activities, we designed two courtyards, a rooftop terrace with a panoramic view, and spaces under eaves that maintain a strong connection to the ground as areas where patients can experience the outdoors. Conversely, during the harsh winter months, we scattered locations throughout the building where patients can explore the facility as part of what we call “hospital tours.” Residents can sense the changing seasons and the cityscape through the day rooms connected to the courtyards, the first-floor lounge facing the shopping district, the meeting room facing the rooftop terrace, and the circulation spaces linking these areas.

In a typical four-bed room layout, there is often a significant disparity in comfort between beds facing the window and those facing the hallway. In this design, openings were created in the hallway-side bed area to diffuse indirect light from the courtyard throughout the hallway and direct it toward those beds. This allows for light and views while maintaining privacy through curtains, creating a more tranquil space compared to the window-side beds. Meanwhile, for the window-side beds, a combination of balconies and vertical louvers provides both solar shading and privacy. This balcony area serves as a multifunctional façade that also facilitates evacuation and rescue operations in emergencies. We designed it with the intention that its appearance would serve as the face of a new hospital that actively engages with the cityscape.