UAE Hospital Blurs Line
UAE Hospital Blurs Line Between Healthcare And Hospitality
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A new $209 million hospital is expected to change the face of healthcare in the United Arab Emirates and provide a flagship facility with hospitality-based services for the country’s national health system.
Dallas-based architectural firm HKS Inc. was selected to design the 160-bed women’s and children’s hospital that is
planned to match many other architec- tural innovations in the UAE.
The 21-story, 990,000-square-foot
building will accommodate a birthing center, 24-hour emergency department and several other services. It is sched- uled for completion in 2011.
The design of the new facility features a perforated metal veil that surrounds the façade of the structure in
gentle curves — an aesthetic nod to the veils worn by women in the Middle East — according to Enrique Greenwell, HKS senior designer and vice president. Other design features pay homage to mosques and lamps that are common in the Middle East, Greenwell says. The facility was designed to stray from traditional hospital design, which is often synonymous with sickness, he says. “We want to dispel that notion,” Greenwell says. “This is a place for health; a journey or destination for health, this is a good place to be.”
The construction climate in the UAE and the client relationship allowed for more flexibility with the facility’s design, according to HKS. “The client was very receptive,” Greenwell says. “They let you do more things, turning away from the way we have seen hospitals.” The metal veil is fixed with LED lights to create a lightshow affect as vis- itors approach the building. A canopy leading to the entrance resembles flowing, white tents blown by desert winds. Inside, an atrium adorned with plants and water features extends through the upper floors, allowing daylight and orienting patients and visitors. “The look is like a hotel, not like a hospital,” Greenwell says.
The hospital also features many amenities found in hotels. Food and beverage outlets, a spa for guests, medical concierge services and a presidential suite with its own medical team and support services are some of the services offered. Terraces with vegetation in patient rooms will provide a frame to view the desert. “We did not want to go Vegas,” Greenwell says. “We wanted to create a
statement of function and look.”
The birthing center will feature a labor evaluation unit, a high-risk pregnancy unit, labor/delivery/recovery rooms, a special care nursery, and a fertility and genetics center that will provide assisted reproductive technologies and IVF treatments.
Other facilities include a 24-hour emergency department, adult and pediatric intensive care units, an imaging and diagnostics center, primary care and specialty care clinics, inpatient and outpatient surgical suites and a wellness institute that joins medical sciences with fitness and education programs.