Speaker
Description
Architectural decisions are not cosmetic; they are binding contracts between the built environment and its users. Choices about envelope and space design determine both comfort and carbon footprint.
To illustrate this relationship, we focused on hospital buildings, as they are one of the most energy and carbon intensive typology, operating 24/7.
Hospital architecture has evolved through shifts in design trends, social attitudes, politics, medical technology and building services. The resulting typologies: pavilions, podium towers, and others, shape how well-being and energy demands are distributed across departments.
This research, part of the EU-funded Horizon project Caring Nature (CN), aims to advance sustainable, circular healthcare buildings. Focusing on inpatient units, still major energy consumers despite fewer beds and shorter stays, we analyse a prototypical patient room. Over 10,000 dynamic simulations across four climates vary orientation, glazing, window-to-wall ratio, solar shading, natural ventilation and thermal mass. The goal is to identify design compromises that balance well-being, daylight, carbon reduction, and costs.
Simulations are processed in two ways: first, assessing the cumulative impact of all strategies under a baseline scenario to reveal maximum energy savings; second, isolating variables to measure each strategy’s effect by climate. Results are linked to a well-being framework highlighting room-level parameters most influential on recovery.
Extending findings to whole-unit archetypes, central corridor, double corridor and courtyard, we evaluate how room-level decisions scale up.
The conclusion highlights that early, performance and evidence-based design coordination between architects, engineers and hospital managers can align patient well-being with substantial carbon reductions.
| If your abstract is not accepted for an oral presentation, would you be interested in presenting it as a poster instead? | Yes |
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| If accepted by the Scientific Board, I agree to have my presentation/poster and abstract published on the Belgian Climate Centre websites and social media. | Yes |
