The relocation of a new hospital has been decided for a developed site in the Nikko Industrial Park, a spacious plot surrounded by rich nature, and the construction of a state-of-the-art hospital providing advanced medical care has begun in earnest.
Plans for the new site make full use of its spacious grounds, including a ground-level heliport, two-way access for ambulances, and a building layout that allows for future expansion.
At the old hospital before the relocation, patients had to cross the Tobu Nikko Line railway tracks, which posed logistical challenges for emergency transport. Furthermore, the building had several issues, including a structural issue that hindered emergency helicopter operations and the deterioration of its facilities.
Against this backdrop, the client, who had been considering rebuilding the hospital, and Tochigi Prefecture, along with Nikko City, which had been promoting the development of the Nikko Industrial Park, agreed to proceed with the relocation plan.
The project site is situated near the Nikko Kaido, a road lined with traditional inns, and the exterior design emphasizes elongated horizontal lines of eaves that echo the scale of the tall cedar trees lining the road and the magnificent Nikko mountain range in the distance, harmonizing with the Nikko landscape.
The shade-providing eaves installed at the top of the exterior wall are not merely a design element, but also provide natural ventilation from the rear to the atrium, supplying and exhausting air into and from each room.
Instead of the conventional "mid corridor" type layout commonly found in large hospitals, where patient facilities are on both sides of a central corridor, this plan takes advantage of the length of the site and the relatively compact size of the hospital (199 beds) to create a "side corridor" type layout that provides a patient circulation space in a single hall along the entire length of the building (approximately 108 m) facing the exterior.
This space, called "Nikko Mall," is bright and open, with all facilities for outpatients arranged in a row, creating an easy-to-follow layout where you can easily find your destination just by following this straight path.
In addition, the Nikko Mall features Oya stone and wood-textured materials to create an interior distinctive to Nikko, creating a welcoming space that serves as the welcoming centerpiece of a hospital tha focuses on medical tourism.
The ward's floor plan is designed in a hall-type layout with a staff station at the center and patient rooms arranged around it, making it easy to monitor patients and improving staff mobility.
To comply with regulations requiring natural lighting even in rooms located near the center of the building, large 15-meter-square light courts were provided in the center of the building. This allows natural light to enter the otherwise dark corridors of the ward, contributing to a more soothing environment for patients and a better working environment for staff.
Since the design process began during the first state of emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have faced numerous challenges under a completely different lifestyle, with restrictions on face-to-face meetings.
Given the popularity of Nikko as a tourist destination, the plan for the new hospital, which aims to focus on medical tourism, required special consideration for infection control measures.
As part of these measures, the emergency infection examination room on the first floor has an entrance directly accessible from outside, and an emergency elevator connecting directly to the third floor's dedicated infection ward via the outside, minimizing the areas of the hospital that infected patients have to pass through.
In addition, natural ventilation is provided in patient rooms and the Nikko Mall, a space for welcoming patients, as part of enhanced infection control measures.
