LS
L.A. Schut
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Piet's Centre
A hospital for immunocompromised patients
My motivation to focus on hospitals is personal. My younger brother, Piet, is nineteen years old and has Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic condition that mainly affects the lungs and immune system, making patients particularly vulnerable to infections. Because of this, a hospital is not always experienced as a safe place. It is the place where care is provided, but also a place where exposure to infection can become dangerous.
This contradiction forms the starting point of my graduation project. The contemporary hospital is confronted with a renewed architectural challenge. Many hospital buildings were designed during the antibiotic era, when compactness, efficiency, shared waiting areas, and dense circulation systems became common. However, for patients who are vulnerable to infection, these environments can be problematic.
The main question of the project is: how can architectural design contribute to infection safety and overall well-being for immunocompromised patients within the hospital environment?
The project argues that infection prevention is not only a matter of medical protocols, ventilation systems, or personal protective equipment. It is also shaped by architecture. Routing, thresholds, room organization, outdoor space, material choices, visibility, distance, and atmosphere all influence how patients move, how care is organized, and how safe a hospital can feel.
The design responds by reorganizing the hospital around protection, clean air, and controlled interaction. Separate routes reduce unnecessary contact between patients. Positive pressure rooms create protected interiors. Outdoor circulation provides access to fresh air, while courtyard gardens bring daylight, greenery, and nature-inclusive healing into the care environment.
At the same time, the project avoids turning protection into isolation. Social spaces, outdoor meeting areas, daylight, greenery, and patient autonomy are included as essential parts of the design. The project searches for a balance between control and freedom, between medical safety and human comfort.
Architecture cannot remove medical risk completely, but it can define the spatial conditions in which care, movement, interaction, and protection take place. In this way, infection safety and well-being can support each other rather than compete.
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My motivation to focus on hospitals is personal. My younger brother, Piet, is nineteen years old and has Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic condition that mainly affects the lungs and immune system, making patients particularly vulnerable to infections. Because of this, a hospital is not always experienced as a safe place. It is the place where care is provided, but also a place where exposure to infection can become dangerous.
This contradiction forms the starting point of my graduation project. The contemporary hospital is confronted with a renewed architectural challenge. Many hospital buildings were designed during the antibiotic era, when compactness, efficiency, shared waiting areas, and dense circulation systems became common. However, for patients who are vulnerable to infection, these environments can be problematic.
The main question of the project is: how can architectural design contribute to infection safety and overall well-being for immunocompromised patients within the hospital environment?
The project argues that infection prevention is not only a matter of medical protocols, ventilation systems, or personal protective equipment. It is also shaped by architecture. Routing, thresholds, room organization, outdoor space, material choices, visibility, distance, and atmosphere all influence how patients move, how care is organized, and how safe a hospital can feel.
The design responds by reorganizing the hospital around protection, clean air, and controlled interaction. Separate routes reduce unnecessary contact between patients. Positive pressure rooms create protected interiors. Outdoor circulation provides access to fresh air, while courtyard gardens bring daylight, greenery, and nature-inclusive healing into the care environment.
At the same time, the project avoids turning protection into isolation. Social spaces, outdoor meeting areas, daylight, greenery, and patient autonomy are included as essential parts of the design. The project searches for a balance between control and freedom, between medical safety and human comfort.
Architecture cannot remove medical risk completely, but it can define the spatial conditions in which care, movement, interaction, and protection take place. In this way, infection safety and well-being can support each other rather than compete.