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Designed by IAA Architects the Medical Spectrum Twente is one of the biggest non-academic hospitals in the Netherlands. Located near the inner city of Enschede, the complex covers an area of 75,000m2 and the new building was built adjacent to the current hospital.
Contributing to patient recovery
Arup’s work on this project consisted on the design of building services, concepts for sustainable climate control and optimising the glass roof design for the new building with a positive effect on the hospital – both as a work environment and a place that assists patient recovery.
Design for varied needs
The concept for the building was developed with the variety of users in mind. The needs of patients, staff and visitors can vary significantly, and the design needed to allow for this. For example, each patient is able to control the temperature of their immediate surroundings using an infrared panel, without affecting the ambient temperature of medical staff work areas.
Designed as an open hand with outstretched fingers, the structure of the building inspires a feeling of openness. A glass roof covers the area between the ‘fingers’, creating six atria that optimises the use of natural light while restricting excessive solar gain. These atria open up the building and allow generous space for air circulation.
We used lifecycle analyses to support the choice of design, demonstrating this to be the most efficient solution in the medium to long term. The atria are central to the climate control concept of the hospital, and Arup played a key role in optimising the design.
