Connectivity and Circulation at Hengqin Hospital

Now in design, the new Hengqin Hospital will be the main provider of healthcare for a city under development on an island adjacent to the city of Zhuhai in the Guangdong region of China. It will be the signature anchor of a comprehensive medical campus, which will include a series of specialty hospitals, developed and designed separately. The 1.4 million square foot hospital complex will accommodate 500 patient beds with the possibility of expanding to 1,000. For a hospital of this size, it’s important that there is an elevated level of connectivity between the Hospital and the surrounding city, the medical campus and for the accessibility of patients and staff.

Urban Connectivity
The Hospital is located between the Tianmu River on the north and the Hengqin Mountain on the south with direct access to Hengqin Avenue where the design team chose to locate the main entrance to the Hospital. Located at the southwest corner of the site is an underground pedestrian corridor which connects pedestrians coming to and from the main entrance of the hospital to the east-bound bus line.

The siting is advantageous because it has direct access from Hengqin Avenue and because it lies adjacent to a major park system on the west. By consolidating the main Hospital on the east and creating a shared river park with the specialty hospitals, we have made a strong connection to the major urban park to the West. In this way, the hospital campus with its parallel river park is an extension toward the East of the park system.

Campus Connectivity
The hospital occupies a central location in the medical campus and is organized in such a way to provide optimal connectivity with the specialty hospitals. The design includes a central Healing Plaza that unifies the campus and a circulation loop on Level 2 that connects the Diagnostics and Treatment component of the main hospital to the specialty hospitals. The location of the general hospital and its relationship to the specialty hospitals has been carefully calibrated to ensure ample accessibility both for pedestrians and medical transportation and vehicles.

The major public spaces connect vehicular and pedestrian entry and waiting areas to the Green Heart garden at the center of the medical campus. Each department is designed to have its own waiting area and public elevator, but what connects them is a shared view of central garden and reflecting pool. Regardless of where a visitor is situated within the building, this central space helps to orient them and provides pedestrian pathways between the different spaces.

In addition, escalators and openings connect all levels of the Outpatient clinics and the Inpatient entrance. Although the main pedestrian entrance is on a different level from the main vehicular entrance, all visitors experience the same multi-level atria.

Vehicular Drop-off and Loading
The patient drop-off area is designed to prevent traffic jams and permit the utmost efficiency, while decreasing crossing circulation and visitor confusion. The primary access for Health Screening, Outpatient and Inpatient visitors is from Hengqin Avenue to the south of the building, but to attain their efficiency goals, the team opted to separate outpatient and inpatient traffic. As such, outpatient drop-off and arrival occur at Level B1 below grade, while inpatient drop-off occurs on the level below.

Emergency and Service access is from the side street on the east, separated from the busy access point on the south. Emergency and Trauma drop-off occur at grade, above where outpatient and inpatient drop-offs occur. Loading occurs on Level B1 and is efficiently planned to link coordination corridors and elevators at the perimeter of the basement parking zone.

By bringing vehicular circulation below grade, the footprint of the campus at ground level can be devoted primarily to healing and performative landscape space, and pedestrian traffic flows do not cross vehicular traffic flows. However, the multi-level atrium spaces are designed to allow for a consistent entry experience for visitors arriving both by car and by foot, with a shared landing space that helps to orient visitors regardless of their mode of travel.

The team worked to develop a fully integrated hospital that would connect the hospital’s programs both horizontally and vertically with maximum efficiency. This resulting design creates a contiguity that will result in more rational and intuitive circulation, shorter travel distances and direct connectivity for all critical functions, helping to ensure proper care for patients and usability for staff across the medical campus.

Related Links:
Payette Awarded Hengqin Hospital in Design Competition!
Hengqin Hospital: An Integrated Building
Embedded Nature at Hengqin Hospital