The Tony Molleapaza Rojas hospital was declared winner of the Design & Health International Academy award for the best hospital in the world (category till 40.000 m2). The prize for the children’s hospital in Arequipa (Peru) was presented during the gala of the 9th Design & Health World Congress in Brisbane Australia.
The award was received by Prof. Bas Molenaar, former EGM partner. In his speech Bas mentioned to be honored and he expressed his gratitude for winning this prize for a small, yet incredibly important project in Peru. During the conference, Bas gave a lecture on the success factors and the development of the hospital. He mentioned that human scale, the use of local materials, wayfinding, comprehensible architecture and stimulation of a social network were key aspects during the design and realization of the project.
EGM architects designed the children’s hospital for the PAZ Holandesa foundation. The foundation provides free medical surgery and after care for children with a congenital abnormality such as a cleft lip or clubfoot, preventing these children to become isolated. Based on EGM's social commitment and responsibility, the office has decided to sponsor the Tony Molleapaza Rojas Children's Hospital by carrying out the design for its own account. The construction and equipment of the hospital was made possible by private donations, funds, company donations and by the support of a number of local institutions.
The design consists of a cluster of small pavilions in which the various functions are placed: forty beds, operating rooms, an outpatient clinic, an X-ray unit, a laboratory, a pharmacy and a guesthouse. On one hand, the pavilion-design is dictated by practical considerations such as earthquake hazards, while on the other hand, the small scale matches well to the functions of the children’s hospital. The existing height differentiations, formed by former agricultural terraces, are integrated into the plan. Local materials such as white solar stone (volcanic stone from the nearby volcano, Misti), wooden frames, metal roofing and stucco were used. This is how a small, colorful, comprehensive children's hospital with state-of-the-art technology came into existence in Arequipa.
The annual conference and awards ceremony have a significant role on the global design of salutogenic environments that support health, wellbeing and quality of life, reflecting important aspects of the exceptional work undertaken by researchers and practitioners at the forefront of the field of design and health. In 1997, the International Academy for Design and Health was founded by scientists of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, a non-profit research organization dedicated to improve interaction between design, health, science and culture. The academy offers a worldwide forum for the continuous exchange of research results in those fields.
2013.07.13