Location: Istanbul, Turkey.

Architect: Memorial Healthcare Group Project Management.

Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital is a full-fledged general hospital located in Istanbul, Turkey. The hospital has 320 patient rooms, 15 operating rooms, 49 intensive care units, 31 observation rooms, and 135 examination rooms. The aim of the project was to design a hospital that is compatible with new technologies and helps to reduce stress levels and comfort patients and their relatives with the help of art and nature. The hospital was designed with sustainability, energy efficiency, and environmental-friendly approaches in mind. The hospital was awarded the LEED Platinum certificate by USGBC, making it the first LEED Platinum for a full-fledged general hospital in the world. The hospital was structured by considering land use, climate, daylight, heat effect, wind, access to the landscape, and transportation. The inpatient and outpatient floors are vertically separated. The upper block contains the inpatient rooms, and via a central circulation system, connects to the operating rooms, the lobby, and the outpatient clinics, and parking. The structure expands to the lower block. The hospital was designed with a “biophilic” design approach, which aims to create a healthy habitat for humans that has a beneficial interaction between the planned environment and the natural world. Access to greenery and daylight are provided, in order to strengthen the interaction with nature. Natural forms and patterns are used on interior design. The hospital has terrace gardens around the outpatient clinics to benefit from the therapeutic effect of nature. The 8000m2 landscape project contains green terraces in each floor, follow the calligraphic language and characteristic features of the architectural design. The aim is to create a positive effect by transporting the biorhythm of the nature to the patients with the color and seasonal changes of the plants. The hospital has various design solutions like promoting alternative ways of transportation and encouraging the use of green energy resources to reduce energy and water consumption. The cogeneration unit and CFC-free cooling equipment are selected to increase the use of environment-friendly energy and products. Recycling was studied in all phases of the design, construction, and operation processes. According to the construction waste management plan, recycling materials are diverted from disposal and sorted on-site or co-mingled. Recycling points are identified, and low VOC (Volatile organic compounds) materials are used. The hospital has a warm atmosphere that helps patients to relax. The painting exhibition, the digital art installation, and the concert area are organized around the entrance lobby, which triggers the physical

Photo credit: Cemal EMDEN.