Reflections during the planning of the Southern Buda Central Hospital

Text: Tamás Noll

Central hospitals represent a new generation of international hospital building, the so-called “core hospital” typology. The reorganisation project of healthcare in Hungary, the Semmelweis Plan launched in 2012, is in sync with developments all over the world, where care is being organised into districts of similar size and networking, with a focus on emergency care-based centre hospitals. At the top of the patient care pyramid, the national hub hospitals are the leaders in their respective regions, but also work in partnership with other health care entities in the same region, such as general practitioners, specialised clinics and partner hospitals. The operational concept and functional system of the Southern Buda Central Hospital has been developed taking into account the best practices of European and American central hospitals as well as the specifics of the country.
During the planning of the hospital, the primary consideration was to organise and develop the most optimal care processes. With this priority in mind, the iconic butterfly-shaped floor plan was created, in which the care functions will be arranged between patient rooms organised in a contour. In the design of the Southern Buda Central Hospital, the focus was on defining a clear, well-organised spatial structure as a primary architectural value. The spatial organisation of the complex follows the flows (the paths and stations of patients arriving at the different levels of care). Despite the complexity of its functions, we have created easy-to-understand vertical and horizontal main transport routes. Special attention has been paid to the design of an information signalling system for outpatients’ and visitors’ routes. Given its role as a top hospital, it must be equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and medical instruments. The most important aspect in the designing stage is to create a humanistic environment for the patient in need of care and the staff.