User-centred architecture creates humanity at Ahvenisto Hospital
The architectural design of the new centre for well-being services, Ahvenisto Hospital Assi, has been guided above all by the human and functional needs of staff, patients, and their loved ones. The colour scheme of the hospital facades fits in with the urban landscape of Hämeenlinna, coloured by red brick barracks.
A cost-effective central hospital for the people in Hämeenlinna
The wellbeing services county of Kanta-Häme started planning Ahvenisto Hospital Assi in 2015, and the alliance group was assembled three years later. Sweco’s structural and building engineering designers, user-centred design consultants and hospital logistics system designers have been part of the alliance from the beginning, and in 2020 Sweco’s architects also joined the alliance.
“In spring 2020, the project’s cost estimate was about to exceed the budget allocated to it, so a new concept was developed for the hospital with the aim of saving square meters and costs,” says Arto Hellsten, Project Manager of the Sweco team.
The proposed changes were evaluated together with the client and the various architectural parties in the alliance. One of the biggest changes implemented was the condensation of the hospital’s core functions, which made it possible to remove an entire floor from the hospital ward building.
“The wards have now been designed with millimetre-precise dimensions so that operations are of high quality and 100 spare beds can also be made available in a crisis,” says Aune Viinanen, Sweco’s architectural designer and assistant chief designer from Hämeenlinna. Areas were also reduced in the corridors. “In a hospital made for people, functions are located close to each other.”
The architecture of the hospital fits into the cityscape
The decision was made to implement Assi, originally designed in white, cost-effectively from precast concrete elements that are patinated with Umbra dyeing. “It connects the hospital to the cityscape tinged with red brick barracks,” says Nicola Ugas, Project Manager at Sweco’s architects. Colour and liveliness are brought to the façade by false seams, which at the same time fade the element seams from view.
According to Ugas, the architectural design of a hospital always emphasises social sustainability, whereas structural and building services aim at energy savings. “Improving people’s lives was our main goal at Assi.”
Although the location of the new hospital on Ahvenisto Hill is even more familiar to the city’s residents, arriving at the Centre for Wellbeing Services was carefully considered. There are separate routes for cars, ambulances and logistics, for example. “Walking and cycling routes are also safe for wheelchair users. The arrival of the hospital must be humane and functional,” Ugas emphasizes.
When choosing interior materials, the needs of users were decisive. “In all treatment facilities, the materials are easy to wash and durable,” Viinanen sums up. At the information points for relatives, human warmth is created with LED lights and the use of wood materials, for example.
According to Viinanen, excellence has its place in the public areas of the hospital, such as the main lobby. “The scale remains human, and no one gets lost in the lobby. Moving is consistent.”
The parking spaces of the Central Hospital will continue to be close by
In 2026, almost all units of the old central hospital in Hämeenlinna will move to the completed Assi and, for example, the wards of Vanajavesi Hospital, home hospital workspaces, special dental care facilities and a new rescue station. In 2023, it was decided to add a parking garage at the western end of the hospital campus so that the number of parking spaces meets the requirements of the area’s detailed plan. Subsequently, the total area of the project was 94,800 gross square metres, with the investment cost reaching 462 million euros.
“It is important for locals that parking spaces can continue to be found nearby,” Viinanen says. The approximately 700-seat car park will have a staff restaurant in the intermediate section, as well as a staff bicycle storage, gas centre, chapel and technical facilities. “The idea is that the buildings talk to each other and serve the users flexibly together.”
When touring the premises, user feedback has been heartwarming. “The staff has particularly admired the large windows at the ends of the corridors, from which, for example, the elderly in the geriatrics department can watch the change of seasons in the pine forests of the Ahvenisto ridge,” Viinanen says.
The Ahvenisto Hospital alliance includes the wellbeing services county of Kanta-Häme, Skanska, Sweco and the architectural consortium Team Integrated (ONE Architects, Harris-Kjisik and Sweco architects).
Pictures: Architectural consortium Team Integrated