Electrical and lighting engineering in Building M of Seinäjoki Central Hospital support safe recovery
The new Mahdollisuuksien talo, Building M, was completed at Seinäjoki Central Hospital, bringing together various mental health, well-being and rehabilitation services under one roof. The electrical and lighting engineering of the building promote recovery, safety and the energy efficiency of the premises.
In autumn 2021, the seven-storey Building M was completed in the area of Seinäjoki Central Hospital on the shore of Lake Kyrkösjärvi, bringing together all psychiatric services in the Törnävä hospital area under one roof. “The 100-year-old buildings in the Törnävä area had reached the end of their lifespan in terms of building services, and the hospital had been waiting for years to move into new, shared facilities,” says Heidi Kaipio, Planning Coordinator at Seinäjoen Terveysteknologiakeskus.
The spirit of the new building, known as Mahdollisuuksien talo (House of Opportunities), is reflected in the fact that, in addition to specialist medical care and social services, the building also houses a hospital school, a library, a café, and meeting and sauna facilities available for rent. Even the exterior of Building M has a gentle look. “At first, the ceramic facade elements took some getting used to, but now the uniquely shaped building feels beautiful to look at,” says Building M’s Property Manager Teemu Pirttinen.
They both believe that bringing together services from different parts of Seinäjoki will improve access to psychiatric and substance abuse services and lower the threshold for seeking help. “Mental health services are finally in the same place as other well-being services.”
Lighting to support recovery and well-being at work
Electrical engineering has many important tasks in Building M, and therefore all functional spaces were reviewed with the client’s planning coordinator and staff representatives. “Consideration of the many user groups in the patient rooms and common areas required in-depth discussion,” says Sweco’s Building Services Development Manager Mikko Malinen. The users were consulted on everything from the requirements of specialist medical care to the functionality of the break rooms.
Furthermore, Building M was designed with the idea in mind that the physical environment can support recovery and well-being at work. The facilities feature art and make use of natural materials and colours. All single-patient rooms have en-suite toilet and shower facilities and soothing orange evening lighting to support recovery. The lighting control has also been fully optimised.
“The entire building has a DALI-based lighting control system, and the lighting is controlled by daylight and presence sensors, as well as by time of day,” says Malinen. The light output can also be easily increased during cleaning, for example. “Furthermore, the building has been energy optimised and only energy-efficient LEDs are used.”
Access to modern security technology everywhere
Even for an experienced electrical designer, the diversity of the psychiatric hospital was an eye-opening experience. “None of the spaces could be designed with the same template. Instead, we looked at each space solution individually from the users’ perspective,” says Malinen.
To keep patient rooms comfortable and homelike, all electrical equipment must be discreet but easily accessible. A wireless system for requesting assistance, positioning and cameras was set up in the building, allowing the staff to have access to modern security technology wherever they are. In the process, the electrical designers confirmed which spaces can and cannot be legally monitored. “This was done to ensure the safety and privacy of both patients and staff.”
For the technology to be usable, it is important that the different systems are integrated so that they communicate smoothly with each other. “It was a tricky task, both on the drawing board and on site,” admits Malinen. This was achieved, however, and now the fire alarm system, for example, automatically transfers information to the nurse call, access control and sound systems.
Indeed, the AV technology in Building M is state-of-the-art. Telecommunications technology evolved over the course of the long hospital project, and what initially seemed like a tall order was implemented to the last detail in the end. “This ensured the functionalities that users wanted, such as the ability to participate in Teams meetings seamlessly from different meeting rooms,” says Malinen.
Teemu Pirttinen thinks that the electrical engineering and building automation in Building M are on a completely different level than in the previous facilities. “For example, we can monitor indoor conditions on a room-by-room basis.”
