West 8 wins design for the courtyards of the new General Hospital Jan Portaels in Vilvoorde

Cor Wagenoor, Professor at the Technical University of Delft and expert in the architecture of health care, assisted in the selection process and is very happy with the winning design team: “This design team has perfectly translated the very clear vision and strategy of the hospital into architecture.”

The selected design team is responsible for the urban design, architecture, interior, functional design and landscape of the Flemish hospital, which is over 45,000 square meters will house more than 400 beds and is intended to catalyze one of the most important and strategically located areas in Vilvoorde.

The hospital will treat 10,700 patients and provide space for the 64,500 consultations that take place on an annual basis. The hospital, which will be constructed behind the station area of Vilvoordel, features a cut open building block design. This creates a balance between the opening up and shutting out of the urban surroundings, and ensures the calmness and serenity of the enclosed courtyards within the hospital is not lost. The effect is a healing atmosphere that focuses attention on the patient and his/her surroundings.

The cut open building block also combines the advantages of a campus layout with the compactness of a closed building block. The individual buildings, such as the cure-care building, the health centre and the office building, are easily recognizable and arranged in such a way that they form part of the building block. In this way a very compact layout has been created with short walking distances, great interconnectivity and distinctive architecture.