Scientific Journal of Riga Technical University Architecture and Urban Planning
2010
Volume 4
Architectural Concepts for Transformation of Health Care Facilities in Vilnius and Riga Gintaras Stauskis, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University of a European Research Project “Network for Future Regional Health Care”. Initially drafted as a medically oriented activity very soon the whole operation raised very strong regional and urban planning requirements and resulted in an outline for future development of health care services in Vilnius County and Vilnius City as well as in the other European regions. Following the draft of that project Antakalnis hospital is marked as a middle cross of three little ones in the right centre (Figure 1). The presented plan reveals very strong urban importance of Antakalnis hospital for the residents of Vilnius City and the residential area that it is located in. It should continue providing high level professional health care services for the residents of a major central and western parts of Vilnius city. The plans state its secondary rank meaning it is not an acute care hospital with regional scope of services, but a powerful city hospital where a perfect layout, proper functional coordination with the rest city hospitals and strong community integration is radically need [6]. Similar planning activities have been happening in health care circles of Riga City. Though the decisions were never given a comprehensive plan or a draft form probably because of the limits of a working group, the location and distribution of health services has been clearly structured in the “Eastern Union” with a total capacities of 2080 hospital beds, “Western Union” with 1200 beds, to which Pauls Stradiņš’ hospital was assigned as well, and the “Central Union” with 1050 hospital beds. The plans were believed to come true until now but global economical turbulences have inevitably slowed down the whole process. It comes true from the plan that Pauls
Abstract – The planned network of health care services in Vilnius County foresees urban strategy for developing coherent and accessible health infrastructure. Strategies for integration and coordination are planned for Riga hospitals as well. Based on the scope of services that city hospitals should provide for city residents their planning should be changed and adjusted to the overall strategies. The article presents analysis of proposals of two recent architectural competitions in Vilnius and in Riga on how a centrally located city hospital should be transformed. Vilnius City University Hospital and Riga Pauls Stradiņš hopsitals being different urban complexes and architectural sites feature quite similar problems for their future transformation and integration into the urban layout of the city and pose interesting and comparable responses to that problem. Keywords – architecture, urban integration, regional network, health care, hospital, social services, urban community.
I. Problem definition
Health care systems have emerged in European cities centuries ago as a social service institution demonstrating the care of local communities for the weaker and the disadvantaged. Being strongly integrated within the religious institutions and convents and monasteries health system at the same time was a consistent part of a city meaning urban integrity, aesthetical dominance and functional coherence to the surrounding community context [5]. Along to the development of industry and spread of functional zoning ideas in urban planning hospitals grew bigger sweeping off the smaller communitybound institutions on their way and gradually became huge multi-professional medical industry giants spreading on the vast lands in a city. Vilnius City University Hospital named locally “Antakalnis Hospital” is a good illustration of the above described development and serves as a good case for analysing in the light of possible urban, volumetric and functional transformations in Vilnius. The international architectural design idea competition has been organized for that in Vilnius in 2009. Similar attempts were planned in central Riga in 2006 where Pauls Stradiņš’ hospital is facing challenges of future redevelopment as a centrally located hospital with additional flavours of preserving architectural heritage. Entries of these two architectural competitions for transforming the mentioned hospital campuses will be structured and analysed in the paper in a search of better and more progressive architectural concepts and solutions for health care facilities and namely city hospitals of different ranks. II. Regional health networks emerging in Vilnius and in Riga
The plan for regional network of health care services has been drafted by the author of present paper in 2006 in the frame
Fig. 1. Network of acute care hospitals in Vilnius City. Arch. Dr. G. Stauskis.
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