Healthcare design revisited – new approaches to user – centric, efficient an effective design

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the paradigm change and different experiences of using the healthcare design guidelines in the last 3 decades, through the case study of the Belgrade’s Military Medical Academy (VMA). Designed in 1973 after a large national competition, when architects Osojnik and Nikolić won the first prize, an extraordinary leaf shaped volume was raised in 1982 as the biggest healthcare center in former Yugoslavia. The 14-story building is covering 180.000 square meters of space on 21 hectares of land of Belgrade quarter of Banjica, divided in 60 different technical-technological entities. It represents still today one of the landmark and recognizable mega-architectural structure of the City of Belgrade. The most contemporary “state of the art” healthcare design guidelines were incorporated along with the most unusual interior design conceived as an U boat. More than thirty years after, its functional organization has been over passed and needs rethinking and upgrading. Its voluminosity and compactness represent major obstacles that need to be rethinked. This paper presents an assessment of the healthcare design of the MMA. The paper has two parts. In the first part a specific set of criteria is defined based on theoretical research of strategies and documents, today’s healthcare standards and norms. The second part provides a set of analysis through examining 3 types of users: patients, medical staff and experts: architects and engineers. Some conclusions and ideas in form of guidelines for regeneration and improvement will be presented at the end of the paper.