Engineering Queen Silvia’s Children’s Hospital in Sweden

A vast range of services under one roof – all tailored to children

With its new premises, Queen Silvia’s Children’s Hospital aims to embrace a completely new way of thinking about children’s hospitals which puts the patient at the heart of every aspect of design and operations. The hospital has been in its current home since 1973, so the new building is needed to update its ageing facilities and to meet an increased need, including for more specialized and new equipment.

Location

Gothenburg, Sweden

Client

Västfastigheter

Project status

Completion due in 2020

Medical and Wellness Specialisms

The eight-storey hospital will cover 33,000m², with a broad range of facilities including outpatients, intensive care, operating theatres, sterilisation unit and wards, across many medical specialisms, as well as a rehabilitation pool, helipad and library. To create a more home-like, safe and secure healing environment, all patients are accommodated in single rooms, which allow parents to stay overnight and reduces the risks of infections spreading.

Advanced lighting design will make sure lights are only on in occupied rooms

Energy Efficient Design

We have provided engineering services including mechanical and electrical design, acoustics, systems engineering, logistics and developing and coordinating the building information modelling (BIM) strategy. Extensive use of BIM has been essential to keeping track of 450 systems – including security, lighting, x-ray equipment, electricity and ventilation – and the complex logistics of the project. BIM was used to keep the user and technical requirement specifications in a database connected to the different CAD-tools. BIM was also essential for good communications with the project stakeholders. Planning for how BIM can play a valuable role in maintenance and adaptations throughout the building’s lifecycle is ongoing.

The energy efficient design includes advanced lighting technologies so that lights are only on in occupied rooms, and ventilation that is tailored to the precise need in each space. Flexibility is also a key part of the design – each operating theatre can be isolated from the rest of the building and can therefore be rebuilt with minimal impact on adjoining rooms.

Stimulating Environment

Great effort is also being made to stimulate the children’s imaginations and encourage them to think beyond their illness. There will be facilities for education and therapy, a music studio, play areas for younger children, a dedicated area for teenagers, relaxation spaces and places for activities such as table tennis and video games.

And with technology second nature to young people today, each patient will have their own page on a dedicated site, with information about the day’s events, details of their medication and treatment and a place where they can send questions to the doctors.