Reynaers provides patient-centred design at AZ Sint Maarten Hospital in Belgium

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Won in competition, AZ Sint Maarten Hospital in Michelen, Belgium, by VK Architects & Engineers combines three separate medical campuses in one building. The compact design is intended to promote patient comfort and sustainability, as well as integrate seamlessly within the surrounding landscape. Working closely with the design team, Reynaers not only helped tailor a brise soleil envelope for solar protection, but also provided glass surfaces that guarantee the highest levels of thermal insulation and daylight.

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Comprising more than 650 inpatient beds, 96 outpatient beds and a generous consultation area, the architect’s focus was to ensure patient comfort and privacy. This in turn informed the building’s spatial design, ergonomics and safety features. A multitude of glass surfaces give patients continuous visual contact with the world outside. Reynaers’ CS 77-HI windows were specified, as they provide the highest levels of performance and thermal insulation, in full compliance with Belgian building standards.

Sustainability is also central to the design. The desire to keep spaces compact yet comfortable has resulted in less building envelope per square-meter, reducing construction costs and energy loss in operation. Conceived as a ‘second skin’, a waving brise soleil envelope provides solar protection for patients and personnel, as well as giving the building a delicate, playful aesthetic.

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Following research into form, inclination, and building simulation modelling for thermal comfort in patient rooms, the architect designed a unique brise soleil solution using curved lamellas. When it came to making the design a reality, Reynaers worked closely with the contractor MBG to tailor the existing BS 100 system to fit the project’s needs. The end solution includes no less that 63,000 metres of profiles, creating a skin for the building that adapts to the facade orientation. For example, closer spaced slats are used on the west and the east facades due to the lower position of the sun, compared to the south where the position of the sun is higher.

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Another key element of AZ Sint Maarten Hospital is that the project was an early adopter of BIM (Building Information Management) in 2010. This allowed complex design aspects, such as airflow and mechanical and thermal simulations, to be evaluated and optimised long before construction began.

Commenting on the collaboration with Reynaers, Erik Vereecken, Healthcare Project Director at VK Architects & Engineers said, “One of the key elements in this project was the wind tunnel test to verify the overall resistance to wind loads and acoustic impact. This test convinced everybody of the quality of the technical solution provided by Reynaers.”

Contact Details
For further information please call Reynaers on 0121 421 1999, email or visit the website.