Nyt Hospital Hvidovre

schmidt hammer lassen architects, in collaboration with aarhus arkitekterne, has been appointed the winner of the competition to design the new extension of the New Hospital Hvidovre. The design for a 30,000-square-metre extension, which comprises an emergency ward, a pediatrics ward and obstetrics and cardiology departments, was so outstanding compared with the other six competition proposals that the jury chose to appoint only one winning proposal to proceed to the second round.

The keywords to describe the winning project are clarity, flexibility, respect, green garden spaces and spatial variation. In the winning design, special attention has been paid to creating a unique main entrance to the hospital and to creating an architectural interaction between the existing hospital and the new extension.

Mr Kasper Frandsen, associate partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects, explains:
“By understanding the building principles of the existing hospital we designed the extension to become a continuation of the existing structure. The architectural idea is to develop the concrete base into a flexible and respectful new interpretation while maintaining the orthogonal geometry. The design of the extension is organic and empathetic, which makes it vibrant, expressive and dramatic.”

The new green garden spaces will act as structuring focal points in the new extension. They connect all floors and bring daylight to the lowest level, where the parking area and the new main entrance are placed. As a consequence of the majority of visitors arriving at the hospital by car, the new main entrance is placed level with the parking area, so one moves up from below and through the building.

Mr Kim Holst Jensen, partner at schmidt hammer lassen architects, says:
“On arrival, all patients, relatives and employees must feel welcome and accommodated. People must be received in a proper manner, which leaves them in no doubt about where to go. We created a new platform for arrival which angles towards the hospital in one smooth movement and leads below the building, where the green garden spaces will act as way-finding elements.”

The judges’ report states:
“The proposal demonstrates humility towards the particular cultural heritage of this hospital and is also an innovative example of the difficult architectural and functional task it is to extend one of our country’s finest hospitals.”

The New Hospital Hvidovre is the second hospital project schmidt hammer lassen architects and aarhus arkitekterne have won together in 2013. In March, the consortium won the new extension of the Helsingborg Hospital in Sweden. As part of the Indigo Consortium, the architects are working together on the New Aalborg University Hospital.

The New Hospital Hvidovre is expected to be completed in 2019.