DESIGN STORY

Fukui Kosei Hospital

Aiming for Architecture That Stays Close to
People's Ordinary Days

Thinking about the state of a hospital that lives up to its role in community healthcare

In late summer of 2016, the author visited Fukui Kosei Hospital in the rural landscape of Shimorokujo, Fukui City. The previous week, we received a request from the chairman of Koseikai Medical Corporation to participate in a competition for a new hospital project, and the purpose of our visit was to conduct a site survey and talk to the chairman. During his previous career, the Chairman of Koseikai served as the coordinator on the client's side when we designed the Susumu & Mieko Omura Memorial St. Luke's Center for Clinical Academia. The author was very happy to learn that he had invited us because he had been impressed with our work then.
Fukui Kosei Hospital, located southeast of central Fukui City, is on the city's edge. In contrast to the city center to the north, the rice fields to the south extend to the foot of distant Mount Monju, and the golden color of the ears of rice drooping their heads immediately before the harvest was such a beautiful scenery one could fall in love with it at first sight.
Upon entering the hospital, the author, feeling refreshed by the scenery of ears of rice, noticed a picture of a single-car train running through the golden rice fields on the bulletin board. It was accompanied by the message, "We want to stay close to your ordinary days."
This advertisement was posted in a newspaper to commemorate Koseikai Group's 30th anniversary. The author deeply sympathized with the hospital's commitment expressed in this message and immediately decided to participate in the competition, driven by the desire to help the hospital live up to its role in community healthcare.

  • Rounded architecture resembling a "kamakura" responds to the hospital's kindness to the public

    Located in a lush environment with a view of the rural landscape and Mount Monju to the south, the project site offers a stunning backdrop of fresh green leaves in summer, golden ears of rice in autumn, and a snow-covered landscape in winter.
    After the author returned from the site survey, the first sketch shown in the dialogue with the design team showed the configuration consisting of boxes with a soft shape, like a "kamakura" (bowl-shaped snow hut,) gathered under the roof.
    The design inspiration was drawn from the snowy region of Hokuriku. Yet, more significantly, the author felt compelled to place a softly shaped white building among the carpet of rice ears, which would be ideal for this location.
    Usually, a more logical explanation would be necessary for architectural design, but the author wanted to focus on this first impression for this project. To respond to the hospital's heartfelt aspiration to "stay close to people's ordinary days," the architect should face the project with solid aspirations that transcend architectural logic.
    After we won the competition, this distinctive building form evolved into one that eliminated the large roof between the layers and yielded various "architectural advantages" such as zoning rationality, engineering integration, and spatial comfort for the users.

  • "Amoeba-style zoning" that accommodates the hospital staff's needs to the maximum extent possible

    It is important to incorporate the client's expectations for the building into the design process for hospitals and other types of buildings. Especially in the case of a general hospital, which aggregates various specialized areas, the key is how to arrange these areas within the boundaries of a limited site and floor area. To find the optimal solution, we conducted numerous interviews with staff members over a two-year period.
    The floor plan changed drastically with each interview, and we devised a zoning method that could flexibly respond to their needs by allowing the boxes in each zone to expand and contract like an amoeba. We designed the boxes with rounded corners reminiscent of a snow cavern, a concept we set for the building, making the stacked rounded boxes appear directly on the exterior. In this way, we were able to accommodate the staff members' requests gathered through the interviews to the maximum extent possible while achieving an attractive architectural design.

  • Gaps between the boxes create comfortable spaces for users that are open to the community

    The gaps between the boxes, which are repeatedly expanded and contracted like an amoeba, are used as multiple entrances to provide access to the building for different purposes, such as the main entrance and an entrance directly connected to the store attached to the building. The aroma of bread baked in the store attracts students on their way home from school, contributing to the building's public presence. In addition, the areas serving as corridors are open-ended with glass walls and serve as welcoming spaces that take advantage of the characteristics of the gaps between the boxes, such as a gallery for displaying artwork by community members and a lounge where inpatients and family members visiting the hospital can relax together.
    The large gap is a central plaza, where natural light difussed through a skylight and a new type of light duct (patented) gently pours down through the membrane ceiling. The medium-sized gap on the ward floor is a hall where one feels natural light coming through the skylight, which serves as a rehabilitation space with a hospital room atmosphere. The gaps between the boxes are designed with rich spatiality.

  • Creating a hospital that the staff members are proud to work in

    While engaging in dialogue with staff members and executives in the course of finalizing the design, we were reminded of the recent shortage of physiotherapy workers and realized how increasingly difficult it is for private hospitals in rural areas to secure human resources.
    Therefore, we decided that another important mission of the project was to create a hospital that would attract more staff members, and set out to create a place where staff members could work comfortably and proudly, while also providing patients with a comfortable space to rest and recuperate.
    Streamlined functionality was achieved by placing staff areas back-to-back in close proximity to each other so that a small number of staff can work together between wards, even at night. In addition, satellite staff corners are placed in the ward corridors like islands to induce better communication and interaction.
    The main staff station is a stylish space reminiscent of a medical laboratory, with a glass wall allowing for a clear view and a louvered ceiling integrally designed with linear lighting and air conditioning outlets.

Architecture is for the users. In this project, we wanted the architecture to benefit both the patients and the staff members working there.
With this idea in mind, we held numerous interviews with the staff members, visited other facilities for further research, held numerous discussions, and repeatedly drew over the drawings on our desks with red pens to create this architecture in collaboration with the hospital staff. After the new hospital opened, we were thrilled to learn that it hosted work experience programs for local junior high school students and received many inquiries from medical students.
We hope that the hospital, the embodiment of the many wishes of the hospital staff and the architects, will be cherished and passed on to the next generation.

Photo:Kawasumi・Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office.

Year of completion
2022
Location
Shimorokujo-cho, Fukui City
Total floor area
12,675m²
Number of stories
3 stories above ground
Structure
Reinforced concrete

Fukui Kosei Hospital

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