SHUNDE DISTRICT, China — Crews broke ground on a 2.4 million-square-foot hospital located on the outskirts of the city of Foshan in Guangdong province.
With an estimated cost of $175 million, The First People’s Hospital of Shunde District is planned to house 2,000 beds and serve 6,000 outpatient visitors per day, when complete.
HMC Architects of Los Angeles teamed up with Shunde Architectural Design Institute in 2009 in an invitational design competition. The firm competed against a short-list of architectural teams from around the world. The HMC/Shunde team’s design was selected for because of its plan that integrates Eastern medicine and culture with Western innovation and healthcare planning, according to reports
The new hospital will feature an interior promenade that will connect different parts of the campus. A tower will mark the main plaza, and the building’s heights will steep downward toward the edge of the site to maximize views. The hospital’s spine element and its tower split the building into four distinct zones — public areas, outpatient services, support spaces and a quiet zone. The spine passes through the main tower building at one point, creating an entrance into the heart of the facility.
Indoor and outdoor green spaces and healing gardens are situated throughout the facility, honoring both Eastern and Western ideas regarding the therapeutic properties of nature. The hospital campus will include photovoltaic panels on the roof, chilled beams in the eco-atrium and abundant natural lighting.