The new Haukeland child and adolescent hospital in Bergen includes departments for psychiatric and somatic medicine as well as women’s clinic. With a reference to the visual appearance of the building on the hillside of Bergen, the project has been named Glasblokkene – the glass blocks.
Studio Name: KHR Architecture
Design Team: Arkitektgruppen BUS(P); KHR Architecture, PKA Arkitekter Trondheim og Rambøll Arkitekter.
Area: Healthcare
Year: 2006-2016/2023 (phase 1/ phase2)
Size: 29,000 m2 (phase 1) and 50,000 m2 (phase 2)
Location: Bergen, Norway
Consultants: Schønherr landskab, Beslagos
Photography Credits: Torben Eskerod, Jiri Havran, KHR Architecture
The project is an extension of the existing university hospital on the Haukeland site and is built in two phases. The first stage includes the psychiatric ward of 29,000 m2 which was finalized in 2016, while the second stage is the somatic ward and the women’s clinic totalling 50,000 m2.
Energy-efficient
Glasblokkene are built as energy-efficient buildings at passive house level and with energy label A. Total greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the building are reduced by 30% compared to current practice. The Norwegian Enova fund has supported innovative initiatives to reduce energy and resource consumption in the project with NOK 39 million.
Holistic approach to health
Both psychiatry and somatics are brought together in one center, based on a holistic approach to health. The design is made with a great focus on the needs and preferences of children and young people and with attention to the healing potential of architecture. Specially design furniture contributes to creating a homely environment that in form and function is adapted to the young users.
Healing architecture
The architectural expression is based on a holistic, functional solution adapted to the site and the climate, signaling confidence, quality and openness. Between the slats, green features extend as terraces, gardens, and play areas. The buildings lie as light and bright glass volumes that are displaced so that light is drawn into the building structure and lets the outside become part of the architecture and the soothing environment.
The design of the building considers both patients and relatives, while at the same time creating efficient and safe treatment flows.
KHR Architecture – studio presentation
KHR Architecture brings 75 years of experience as an independent architectural practice creating human-centered architecture in harmony with the surroundings.
KHR is working across the full spectrum of architectural services and within various segments such as healthcare, education, residential and buildings for commercial use.
Each project is seen as unique, and the team takes pride in challenging itself and its clients to materialize the full potential of each project, – functionally, aesthetically and in interaction with the surroundings.
Over the years, KHR Architecture has led several award-winning and acclaimed projects such as the Copenhagen Metro, the production and administration building for Fiberline, Bang & Olufsen’s headquarters and the University of Copenhagen on Amager.
All four are partners at KHR Architecture, CEO Lars Kragh, CTO Henrik Danielsen, CCO Janina Zerbe and CCO Mikkel Beedholm, are actively involved in the day-to-day operations and stand behind the professional ambitions of being a visionary, independent architecture studio. The company has around 80 employees based at the head office in Copenhagen and project offices in Denmark and abroad.
Read and see more at www.khr.dk/en
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