Emphasis on patients, healthcare professionals and environment drive the design of Laakso hospital in Helsinki.
Located in Helsinki, Finland, the new Laakso hospital (with over 900 beds) will integrate a wide range of psychiatric care, somatic hospital care, and demanding neurological rehabilitation. The vast development project is situated right at the centre of the fast-paced capital city, encompassing both aboveground and underground construction of new facilities.
Commissioned by the City of Helsinki and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), the joint psychiatric and somatic hospital replaces old hospital buildings that no longer support modern care processes. In addition to the hospital wards, Laakso hospital will include clinical support services to ensure seamless and high-quality care. University research supporting the hospital functions is concentrated to Laakso hospital, which will be developed into a significant international knowledge and expertise centre.
Smooth and reliable logistics with careful logistics planning
Optimised flows of people and materials ensure that the needs of patients and staff are served with minimum disruptions and traffic. Logistics designers have produced and compiled logistics data, volumes, and plans.
With the functional, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions of functional logistics planning, they have assessed and guided the design and decision-making in the project. The results have been widely used for the design of entrances, walkways, roads, and various processes, as well as input data for the space design of buildings.
Lifecycle sustainability combats energy costs and climate change
Energy and sustainability aspects are integrated to guide the hospital design process and find the entire energy saving potential of the hospital. Cost-effectiveness of the different implemented measures is demonstrated from both the economic and environmental point of view. A carbon footprint has been calculated and a carbon footprint target has been set for the hospital project.
In the energy planning and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) design, the designers have emphasised energy-efficiency, lifecycle sustainability and actions against climate change. Sustainability has also been considered in the management of indoor conditions.
The ventilation and cooling systems as well as the size of window surfaces are logically proportioned for the hospital’s entire lifecycle. Besides saving energy, this ensures that the indoor conditions remain pleasant for both the patients and the staff and that the conditions can be easily managed, currently and in the future.
When it comes to energy efficiency, it is similarly important to consider the efficient lighting required around the clock in many facilities. The intelligent management of building services according to the use of the premises is what most impacts the energy efficiency of hospitals.
Project in numbers:
- Located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland
- In the project, existing buildings are being renovated and demolished and three new buildings, a parking facility, the vehicle access and a tunnel to the main hospital are being constructed
- The project was commissioned by the City of Helsinki and the Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS)
- The cost estimate is over EUR 800 million
- The scale of the project is approximately 170,000 m2 gross area
- The hospital will be completed in stages in the 2020s (the first phase will be completed in about 2026).
IHDA partners working together in the Laakso hospital:
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AINS Group – Structural engineering, rock engineering, data modelling and acoustical engineering
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AW2 Architects – Main design and architectural design together with consortium Laakson LATU (AW2 Architects Oy, Lukkaroinen Arkkitehdit Oy, Arkkitehtitoimisto Tähti-Set Oy, UKI Arkkitehdit Oy)
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Granlund – Energy planning and consulting, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) design
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Nordic Healthcare Group – Operational people and material logistics planning, evaluation of the plans from the operational point of view
Contact
Jukka Vasara
Vice President, Granlund Group
+358 50 067 5654
jukka.vasara@ains.fi
