Project
Clinically
Educated
American University of Beirut Medical Center
Beirut, Lebanon
Peace
of Mind
The design of Samsung Hospital disassembles the conventional tower-on-podium hospital model and creates a new typology that reflects the dichotomy of Korean and international patients.
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Repositioning of program elements resulted in distinct points of entry and flows customized for each patient group—international patients at ground level, while Korean patients enter below ground level.
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A monorail station built into the design of SMC allows quick transportation between the facility and the nearby city.
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Patient rooms are designed to adapt quickly from a hospitality-like setting (seen above) to an environment that supports critically ill patients.
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Each medical unit has its own lobby which provides comfortable seating and a tranquil atmosphere in which to relax before treatment.
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A view of the main lobby from the second floor. Natural light and greenery provide an atmosphere conducive to healing and connections to nature.
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The hospital includes a helipad and skygarden on the top level, a roof-top garden above the entry plaza, as well as several levels of parking in an underground garage.
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After holding an international competition for the design of a new 310 bed hospital, Samsung Medical Center selected NBBJ’s award-winning design.
The scheme caters to distinct patient demographics: a broad spectrum of the Korean population, and a growing international patient population. The tranquility and calmness of the site reflect qualities essential to a healing environment. Envisioning a hospital emblematic of a forest, light is filtered like a tree canopy, landscape flows through the lobby, and abstract tree patterns are grafted to building forms. As a result, patients, families and staff are connected with the essence of nature.
The design contributes to the healing process through spatial and environmental strategies: access to the surrounding landscape, patient zones that transform from places of respite to state-of-the-art healing environments, naturally lit public areas that alleviate the stress of being in a hospital, clarity of wayfinding and sustainable building systems that promote a high performing healthcare environment.
The illustration below demonstrates how the design of Samsung International Hospital shifted from a convention tower on podium approach to one that uniquely meets the needs of its domestic and international patients.
Awards
AIA Seattle, Citation
IIDA NPC, InAward
