David took the opportunity to remind the audience that hospitals change over time – both in terms of dominant illnesses treated, and technology used.
When New Zealand's free health system became universally available in 1938, a big focus of healthcare was treating tuberculosis. Fast forward to the 1940s and 1950s and many broken survivors of war were being treated.
Just think how far we've come with technology too. In the late 1800s, the first electrocardiogram machine was invented; in 1927, the first modern, practical respirator was developed; the late 1950s saw the first artificial hip replacement; and the CAT scan was introduced in the 1970s. Today, some organs generated from stem cells are grown in vitro, and the entire human genome has been sequenced.
Healthcare facilities generally have a life of seventy years from when they're first designed and built. That means the large hospitals that New Zealand is working on now will still be operating in 2094. For this reason, David says it's important that hospitals are designed in a 'future ready' way.
"When we design healthcare facilities, we need to be thinking about how they're going to function in the future and how they can adapt to future trends."
An example that WSP is working on in Hong Kong is the re-purposing of Kwong Wah Hospital. It features a modular, plug-and-play, electric power system - which makes things easier if clinical units need to be shifted around. There are facilities for 140 enhanced isolation rooms. Another 100 rooms can be converted from normal mode to isolation mode.
Elsewhere, in Sweden, Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Hospital has been designed to be demountable, with walls able to come down and be repurposed.
David says understanding what makes for a healing environment is a trend being seen in healthcare. He points to Ontario's Credit Valley Hospital, where natural timber materials convey a sense of calm – antithesis to the scrubbed white walls most people are used to in hospitals.
Copenhagen's Herlev Hospital is another fitting example, where natural light dominates, and green and natural spaces have been brought inside the four walls of the facility.
It's important to build healthcare spaces that "work for everyone", says David. Research shows that about 20 percent of people in developed economies are neurodiverse.
“We need to better understand their experiences, and any barriers, and build them into our thinking when designing healthcare facilities.”
Designing hospitals in a way that equips them for future climates and the net zero economy is essential, says David. Every developed economy in the world has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Every building, especially healthcare facilities, should be ready for this transition.
Healthcare facilities globally account for five percent of national carbon footprints, says David. This highlights the importance of initiatives like Adelaide Children and Women's Hospital upgrading to be fully electric, and designs such as UC Irvine's new campus in California prioritising sustainability. In these ways, health facilities are part of the solution rather than contributing to climate issues.
Another trend highlighted by David is the vital role that healthcare systems can play in advocating for better health outcomes. In the long-term, advocating for well-designed public spaces, pedestrian-friendly streets, and mixed-use developments, for example, can foster social cohesion and help counteract loneliness. Advocating for designing urban form in a way that supports active travel can ultimately help reduce health demand and budgets.
More information about WSP's healthcare engineering and advisory services can be found here.
