In 2014, Lausanne University Hospital in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, sought to bring its existing children’s hospital, located across the city, onto its main campus.
The new 6-story facility would consolidate pediatric services under one roof and complete a coherent mother-child medical hub within the main campus. Additionally, connecting the children’s hospital with the existing hospital’s maternity building would allow for seamless collaboration between pediatric, gynecology, obstetrics, and neonatology teams.
Lausanne University Hospital site challenges
But before the project team could start site preparation to integrate the new facility on the main campus, it faced several challenges related to the campus location.
“The site was extremely dense, with limited surface area, a metro line running beneath it, and a complex network of underground tunnels connecting existing hospital buildings,” says Jean-Baptiste Ferrari, administrator and partner of Ferrari Architectes (Lausanne), which along with Architects von Gerkan, Marg, and Partners (GMP; Renens, Vaud, Switzerland), designed the new Lausanne Children’s Hospital.
The existing hospital buildings on the main campus strongly influenced the design approach, shaping both the architectural concept and the construction strategy, Ferrari adds. First, the site chosen for the new children’s hospital, between the maternity building and main hospital entrance was partially on a hillside. Secondly, it was important that the new building not obscure views from the maternity building to the natural landscape to the north. “To accommodate the full program within the constrained site, we had to build downward,” Ferrari says.
Specifically, the design concept called for a terraced inverted L-shaped building. The eastern portion of the building, between maternity and the main hospital entrance, consists of three stories, partially underground and cut into the sloping terrain so that the roof is nearly at ground level on one side. Here, the design team planned a landscaped rooftop garden, two floors of examination and treatment spaces, and a 200-space underground parking garage. The perpendicular, street-facing western portion of the new building comprises a 6-story tower that forms the base of the “L” and houses 71 inpatient beds.
To build downward the project required excavation of approximately 200,000 tons of soil above the underground service tunnels connecting the existing buildings as well as the metro line. Fortunately, Ferrari says, the metro line was constructed with the structural integrity to support development above it, and metro service was disrupted only for one day to connect a new station directly with the children’s hospital.
To avoid structural risk to existing buildings, the team also adjusted the original project plans, repositioning the basement of the new children’s hospital so that the excavation occurred below the lowest level of the maternity building.
How Lausanne University Hospital minimized operational disruptions
Another priority on the project was minimizing disruption to ongoing operations within the existing hospital. For example, construction of a temporary sealed wall protected the lower floors of the maternity ward from dust, and a new pedestrian bridge and elevator were built to maintain access to the main hospital building.
“Positioned along the street, the building is clearly visible from the city, reinforcing its civic role without obstructing views or light to the adjacent maternity building,” says Stefan Walter, associate partner at GMP. “This visibility, combined with direct transit access, makes the hospital both accessible and symbolically integrated into the life of the city.”
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Robert McCune is senior editor of Healthcare Design. He can be reached at [email protected].
