Usually hospitals are operating on their own, but as the medical knowledge increases and the modern medical technology develops further and further, hospitals need to be transferred to all-in-one medical centres not only with healthcare departments but also with education units and scientific research institutes to cope with future requirements, especially in large cities like Shanghai.
Shanghai New Hongqiao International Medical Center is located in the Hongqiao district of Shanghai. The infrastructure of the plot is excellent as the Hongqiao Airport, the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway station and main highways are close by.
The design of the project is based upon the idea of a city complex to combine all different medical fields in a logical, most effective way and to provide maximum space for the future development of the healing hub.
As the key concept of Shanghai New Hongqiao International Medical Center is flexibility to provide maximum space for future development, the healing hub has been located on the plot to ensure enough surfaces westward. To connect the later development as flexible as possible with the existing hub, the medical-tech unit as well as the administration and provision department are designed as two axes, facing from east to west to make the westward expansion easily possible.
The healing unit is located on both sides of the medical-tech unit in a standardized and modular design to allow open spaces where needed or wished.
Additional modules can easily be attached by two systems: either to link it to the central medical-tech unit or to connect it frees with a system of bridges to the existing units; the linking network of the medical hub allows further possibilities for future development.
Each module is designed around a central courtyard that also provides the flow of the patients inside the unit. This ensures not only clear flows but also sufficient natural light. In addition, every module has a small roof garden for recreation and relaxation of the users, which are connected, and are one of the main landscape elements of the Shanghai New Hongqiao International Medical Center. The roof gardens are also a reserved area for the future development of the unit.
The other two main landscape themes are the buffer zones in the east and west of the plot that is used as a large plantation and recreation area as well as the water bodies that are located in each corner of the medical centre to isolate noise and pollution and to create a healthy environment.
The transportation system is divided into static transportation and dynamic transportation. Located underground, the static transportation is mainly for parking, goods delivery and garbage collection. A robot logistic system guarantees the distribution for the whole medical centre.
The dynamic transportation is at the backbone of the medical centre, on the lower ground of the medical-tech unit, so that public transportation, private vehicles and taxis enter the underground parking garage as quickly as possible.
Splitting the internal patient flow and the internal staff flow had solved another key problem. Now, a fast arrival from the centre area of the healing hub to any module of the whole facility as well as a safe and shielded operational flow is ensured.
The medical centre as a healing hub is not only a combination of different hospitals but moreover, a flexible, sharing, sustainable and green module system.
