Samsung Medical Center (SMC) hosted an international design competition for the design of a 310 bed hospital in Seoul. This submittal represents the scheme selected to achieve the goal of creating a world-class, patient-centered hospital.

Innovative Program
SMC desires a provocative design response that serves as a landmark and enhances its reputation within the global healthcare arena. The design caters to two distinct patient demographics: a broad spectrum of the Korean population, and a growing international patient population. The design disassembles the conventional tower on-podium hospital model and creates a new typology that reflects the dichotomy of the two demographics. Repositioning of program elements resulted in distinct points of entry and flows customized for each patient group.

Therapeutic Site
The natural tranquility and calmness of the site reflect qualities that are essential in a healing environment. Envisioning a hospital emblematic of a forest, light is filtered like a tree canopy, landscape flows through the lobby, and abstracted patterns of trees are grafted to building forms. As a result, patients, families and staff are connected with the essence of nature.

Holistic Health
The design contributes to the healing process through a variety spatial and environmental strategies: access to the surrounding landscape, patient zones that transform from welcoming places of respite to state-of-the-art healing environments, naturally lighted public areas that alleviate the stress of being in a hospital, clarity of wayfinding and finally, a host of sustainable building systems that promote a high performing healthcare environment.

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