It’s a sad truth, but many societies tend to belittle the design profession.

This is normally due to a lack of information on what exactly the design process entails – on the outset, most lay people still think that “designing” merely means making something pretty. But as discussed in a previous post “What Does Designing Mean Anyway?“, we know that this is far from true.

So then, how difficult is the thinking process when you’re designing? Is it just a matter of doing a few sketches, considering a few laws, and then voila – the design is ready?

Today, we’re going to do another exercise, to demonstrate again why designers and architects are so valuable in society. Hold your judgement, and let’s go on a quick journey into the mind of an architect.

 

Let’s say an architect is commissioned to design a 100 bed hospital.

Let’s first get something straight – all throughout this design process, the architect will have to collaborate, interview, and check and balance with a staggering amount of people, in order to reconcile their needs, including, but not limited to:

1. The Board of Directors and Heads of Institution
2. Doctors and Nurses
3. Structural Engineer
4. Mechanical Enginer
5.. Sanitary Engineer
6. Electrical Engineer
7. Lighting Consultant
8. Acoustical Consultant
9. Fire and Life Safety Consultant
10. Sustainability Consultant
11. Project Manager
12. Construction Management Group
13. The immediate community
14. Building Administration and Maintenance Group
15. etc, etc, etc.

The point is, he is going to have to synthesize an incredible amount of information to determine the most basic program requirement that will be his first tool in the design process – the preliminary spaces list.

And speaking of the preliminary spaces list for a 100 bed hospital, it will probably look something like this:

SPACE REQUIREMENTS:

NO.	ROOM TITLE	SPACE DEMAND	TOTAL AREA
		(SQ. MTS.)	(SQ. MTS.)
	ADMINISTRATIVE AREA
1.0	ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT
	Lobby	45.00
	Admitting Office	18.00
	Affiliate’s Room and Library	45.00
	Office of the Chief of Hospital w/ Toilet	36.00
	Accounting Room w/ Toilet	36.00
	Office of the Chief Nurse w/ Toilet	27.00
	Office of the Administrative Officer w/ Toilet	27.00
	Business and Finance Office w/ Toilet	108.00
	Office of the Department Head – (Typical)	18.00
	Conference Room	36.00
	Printing and Storage Room	13.50
	Public Toilet Facilities	36.00
	Radio Room	9.00
	MEDICAL SOCIAL SERVICE OFFICE w/ Toilet	27.00
	PHILHEALTH	27.00
	Sub-Total		508.50
2.0	MEDICAL RECORDS ROOM
	Office Area	22.50
	Records Area	36.00
	Toilet	4.50
	Sub-Total		63.00
	CLINICAL AREA
3.0	EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
	Nurse Station	31.50
	Minor Operating Room	18.00
	Treatment Cubicles	22.50
	Observation Room	45.00
	Waiting Area with Stretcher Nook	18.00
	Doctor’s On Duty  Room w/ Toilet	31.50
	Nurses’ Locker Room w/ Toilet	18.00
	Sub-Total		184.50
4.0	SURGICAL DEPARTMENT
	OPERATING ROOM	36.00
	DELIVERY ROOM	36.00
	LABOR ROOM W/ TOILET	54.00
	SCRUB-UP	9.00
	SUB-STERILIZING ROOM	4.50
	SURGICAL SUPERVISOR’S AREA	9.00
	ANESTHESIOLOGIST’S AREA	9.00
	ANESTHESIA STORAGE	13.50
	STERILE INSTRUMENT & SUPPLY STORAGE	13.50
	CLEAN-UP ROOM	13.50
	LOUNGE AREA AND LOCKER ROOMS
	Staff Locker Room and Toilet	27.00
	Staff Lounge	18.00
	Nurses’ Locker Room w/ Toilet	18.00
	CENTRAL STERILIZING AND SUPPLY  ROOM	63.00
	RECOVERY ROOM	72.00
	INTENSIVE CARE UNIT	108.00
	VISITOR’S WAITING AREA	18.00
	NURSERY
	Nurse Station	18.00
	Septic Nursery and Work Room	13.50
	Suspect/Pathologic Nursery and Work Room	22.50
	Breast-feeding Room	9.00
	STRETCHER NOOK AND TRANSFER	13.50
	STORAGE ROOM	9.00
	Sub-Total		607.50
	ANCILLARY AREA
5.0	RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
	Rad-Fluoro X-ray  Room	27.00
	Radiographic X-ray  Room	27.00
	Changing Rooms w/ Toilets	13.50
	Control Booth	4.50
	Dark Room	13.50
	Ultrasound Room	13.50
	Waiting Area with Stretcher Nook	27.00
	Radiologist’s Office w/ Toilet	18.00
	Staff Room w/ Toilet	18.00
	Clerical Room	13.50
	Film File Storage	9.00
	Sub-Total		184.50
6.0	LABORATORY DEPARTMENT
	Bacteriology and Serology Section	18.00
	Histopathology Section	18.00
	Urinalysis and Biochemistry Section	18.00
	Hematology Section	18.00
	Blood Doning	13.50
	Waiting Area w/ Toilet	31.50
	Pathologist’s Office w/ Toilet	18.00
	Staff Area	27.00
	Glass Washing and Sterilizing	22.50
	Storage Room	4.50
	Locker Room and Toilet	13.50
	Sub-Total		202.50
7.0	PHARMACY DEPARTMENT
	Chief Pharmacist’s Office	13.50
	Staff Work Area	13.50
	Patient Dispensing Area and Drug Info.	13.50
	Receiving/Breakout/Inspection Area	13.50
	Flammable Storage	4.50
	Bulk Storage	13.50
	Extemporaneous Preparation Area	13.50
	Distribution Area	18.00
	Staff Toilet	4.50
	Sub-Total		108.00
	OUT-PATIENT AREA
8.0	OUTPATIENT  DEPARTMENT
	OPD Waiting Area	54.00
	OPD Admitting/Information Counter	18.00
	Office of the OPD Chief	22.50
	OPD Records Room	18.00
	Consultation Room (Pedia/Under Six)	18.00
	Consultation Room (Medical)	18.00
	Consultation Room (Surgical)	18.00
	Consultation Room (OB-Gyne)	18.00
	Consultation Room (Family Planning)	18.00
	Consultation Room (Dental)	36.00
	Consultation Room (ENT)	18.00
	Consultation Room (Eye)	18.00
	Minor Operating Room	27.00
	Utility Room	9.00
	Toilet Facilities	36.00
	Sub-Total		346.50
	IN-PATIENT AREA
9.00	NURSING
	WARD NURSE STATION AND SERVICE GROUP
	Nurse Station	12.60
	Utility Area	6.30
	Linen Rooms	6.30
	Treatment Room	15.96
	Equipment Storage	3.84
	TYPICAL 1-BED ROOM W/ T&B	9X18.00 = 162.00
	TYPICAL 2-BED WARD W/ T&B	4X18.00 = 72.00
	TYPICAL 4-BED WARD W/ T&B	2X36.00 = 72.00
	Sub-Total	4X351.00	1404.00
	SERVICE AREAS
10.00	DIETARY DEPARTMENT
	DIETITIAN’S OFFICE w/ Toilet	22.50
	RECEIVING AREA	18.00
	DRY STORAGE	9.00
	COLD STORAGE	9.00
	EQUIPMENT STORAGE	13.50
	FOOD PREPARATION AREA	198.00
	SPECIAL DIET ROOM	9.00
	STAFF DINING ROOM	81.00
	DISHWASHING AREA	18.00
	TRAY TRUCK PARK, WASH AREA	18.00
	LOCKER ROOM AND TOILETS	22.50
	GARBAGE DISPOSAL CUBICLE	9.00
	Sub-Total		427.50
11.00	LINEN AND LAUNDRY
	Linen Office and Work Room	36.00
	Central Linen Storage	27.00
	Receiving and Sorting Area	54.00
	Washing Area	63.00
	Pressing and Ironing Area	54.00
	Toilet	9.00
	Sub-Total		243.00
12.00	MAINTENANCE AND MOTORPOOL
	Office of the Chief Engineer	36.00
	Bio-medical Equipment Room	27.00
	Mechanical and Electrical Room	31.50
	Carpentry Workshop	45.00
	Locker Room and Toilet	27.00
	Garage and Work Area	162.00
	Power House w/ Generator	27.00
	Sub-Total		355.50
13.00	MORTUARY
	Lobby/Waiting Area	18.00
	Autopsy Room	18.00
	Morgue	9.00
	Locker Room and Toilet	9.00
	Sub-Total		54.00
	TOTAL AREA		4,689.00
	25-30% CORRIDORS		1,406.70
	GRAND TOTAL AREA		6,095.70

SITE REQUIREMENTS: 

1)    Visitor Parking ——————————————– 36 slots

2)    Staff Parking ———————————————- 14 slots

3)    Service Parking (including ambulance) ————    6 slots

 So where do you go from here? Is your mind blanking? Intimidated by the many loose ends that have to be tied together?

Well an architect has to make sense of it all, and he is trained to do so through programming aids like tables, matrixes, and diagrams, that will be his informational guide throughout the process.

So as you can see, even the pre-design phase can already be a mind-blowing feat in itself – how much more when you’re trying to synthesize and constantly rebalance the information into a cohesive work of architecture?

At this point, let’s fast-forward a bit and assume that the architect has already produced his initial scheme.

 Let’s take a look at what is cyclically going through his mind as he evaluates his initial decisions, and moves forward with his succeeding schemes:

“Did you consider daylight factor curves? Did you think of Amihan, Habagat and Sunpath to reduce energy consumption? How about Optimum reverberation and acoustical defects that could critically maim the OR? What is the proximity of Laboratory to Radiology? Did you supply a big enough OPD to answer the uniquely Filipino demand? Did you think about the need for a small additional minor-surgery space in the Emergency department because of how it works? How are you corridors designed? How does the positive and negative pressure of airflow work with respect to the wards, corridors, and Fire Exit? Remember, a design without air pressure in mind could mean that corridor-dwellers could be exposed to TB and smoke will enter your Fire Exit. Are they single loaded? Did you use Awning Windows for the cancer-ward knowing fully well the demographic’s tendency towards suicide? How much space did you allocate? What is the minimum square meter requirement of a urinal to be humanely used? Does your grid have a column right in front of the reception desk?. Will there be a beam or p-trap lying directly over the Operating Bed? Does your plumbing layout concept take into consideration the 2% slope of the horizontal? How many circuit breakers do you have per floor? About how large does your septic tank need to be? Cistern? Overhead Tank? Did you consider the turning radius of a 13-wheeler truck for your basement ramp? Did you even consider the largest vehicle that the service zone would need for deliveries? is your basement parking laminar in flow? Did you design the building thinking about project management? When you detailed your canopy, did you decide to use river stones instead of GI sheets so the heat reflection wouldn’t cause the upper floors to become a sauna?

Is your design aesthetic cohesive? Did you use biologically sound finishes that will brighten up the spaces? Does the way you lined up your tiles unknowingly create a path that makes circulation less confusing? Do the wards have good views and vistas towards foliage and life to improve patient recovery? Are overall lighting levels producing glare on the bedside wall? Is your lobby welcoming and good for business? Did you design your ramp to the Emergency room thinking of the old crying lolo who will rush up on it, carrying his sick child? Is your form molded in such a way that its apex will be seen from 3 blocks away, right from the corner of a major road? Do your brise soleils add depth and rhythm to the facade, while at the same time protect the soffits from rain and sun? Is your form a huge block, or did you create a complex of buildings with interstitial pocket gardens, opening up corridors to beautiful views and supplying great lighting and ventilation? Are your fire signages located .3M above the floor because you know users will CRAWL in a fire? Will your building fit well into the spirit of place of the community, or will it be too intimidating?”

 These are a small number of things architects are constantly considering and evaluating in their design process. As you can see, designing is an extremely complex, cyclical thinking game.

It’s a highly difficult discipline, and one that bears a lot of consequences when not done right.

So just from this snippet alone, isn’t it easy to see why architecture is one of mankind’s most awesome professions? Architects orchestrate an elevated standard of life, and they look out for you, through design. 

They’re an invisible, significant hand that drives progress.

So let’s value design, and perhaps patiently enlighten those who don’t.

Keep well, and keep learning,

Aldo

***

Let’s further the discussion! 🙂 

Please, feel free to comment below or send me an email if you’ve got something on your mind that you’d like to share. Cheers!

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