SUPER GREEN - the International Academy of Design and Health

Market Report: ChinaChina risingThere are more than 320,000 hospitalsand clinics in China, most of them eitherundergoing – or needing – refurbishment.What opportunities are being created forenlightened and progressive new healthcarebuildings? Veronica Simpson reportsIt would be impossible to calculate the billions that have beenspent transforming China’s cities in the last fi ve years, as that great,once communist nation embraces consumerism, capitalism andmodernity. But while western eyes widen in amazement as shinysteel and glass skyscrapers and 12-lane highways are constructed ina matter of months by the vast Chinese workforce, there has beengrowing concern that, in the rush to dazzle the world’s TV camerasassembled for this year’s Olympics, little or no attention has beenpaid to infrastructure. The health and wellbeing of the communitycertainly seems secondary to the lust for new, statement offi ceblocks and stadia. International architecture practices are generallysteering clear of involvement in healthcare projects – even ifthey’re active in other sectors in China – because of a perceived diffi culty in achieving quality outcomes, or realistic fees.Brad Barker, managing director for RTKL’s healthcare practice worldwide, says: “Quality healthcare is beginning to emerge as a priority,but not at the pace of commercial development. In addition, most commercial development is driven by entrepreneurial ventures, whilehealthcare is a function of the government and, therefore, lacks the competitive element that drives a commercial project.”He admits the practice has had its fi ngers burnt by a common tendency to bring in international consultancies for design inspiration andthen leave them high and dry. “I must admit our two experiences have not been positive. In both cases we were never paid in full for ourplanning/design services and as a result, we are not spending much time on this market.”Despite having offi ces in the region, Steffi an Bradley, Atkins and NBBJ have, for now, also steered clear of any healthcare projects, as hasLlewelyn Davies Yeang (LDY). But it’s not as though China doesn’t have enough of its own architects to take care of business. As LDY principalKen Yeang points out, whether they operate within the remnants of the vast municipal architecture institutes or as part of the burgeoningprivate practice scene, China has many excellent architects, most of them trained at the best UK and US architecture schools.However, Memphis, Tennessee-based practice TRO Jung|Brannen has made inroads here. Its relationship with the region goes backsome 15 years, when a young Chinese graduate intern, Kai Wang, fi rst suggested sharing the practice’s healthcare knowledge withChina’s medical fraternity at various seminars. Wang is now running its offi ce in Beijing. TRO Jung|Brannen’s fi rst project was the600-bed, 60,000 square metre Shanghai East Hospital, which had to be constructed in three phases, on the same site as the existinghospital, to keep the building operational throughout.Completed in 2000, the 500 bed Tianjin Children’s Hospital is one of a number of innovativehospital designs in China by TRO Jung|BrannenEast meets westKeen to incorporate the best of Western practiceswith those of the East, TRO Jung|Brannen had toaccommodate many cultural differences. PrincipalDavid Rhodes says: “In China the hospital is the centreof all healthcare. People come there for everything– treatments, checkups, visits to all outpatient clinics.So we had to accommodate large volumes of people.We put in big windows, and were able to bring alot of daylight into where the diagnostic clinics andoutpatient clinics were.“In China there is a strong preference for all patientrooms facing south. So how do you come up witha scheme that accommodates that, but doesn’t walkthe nurses to death? We actually created two nursingunits, on each fl oor, side by side. The rooms stretch outalong a semi-circular wing. The north side has all the22 October 2008 | WORLD HEALTH DESIGN