State of the art environmentally conscious medical centre in Nijmegen designed to look and feel like a hotel
When it comes to warmth and comfort a medical centre is not necessarily the first to come to mind, until now. The Radboud University Medical Centre for patient care, research and education set out to make a big impact on healthcare and minimal impact on the environment.
This was a partial renovation and new build project that EGM Architects were commissioned to start working on and later enlisted Suzanne Holtz Studio in 2017. The interior spaces were co-ordinated by Suzanne Holtz Studio and although the functionality of the various spaces had to be clinical for the work being done, the ambiance and the materials used throughout needed to be smart, sustainable and provide a good environment for people to meet and promote healing. With lighting being an imperative part of the “healing environment” to lower stress levels, create clear pathways and manage mood, Brink Licht was brought onboard to handle the challenging solutions for lighting throughout this huge project.
Natural materials and textures were employed to achieve a complimentary atmosphere that is in harmony with the acoustics for a peaceful ambiance within Radboud UMC. When stepping away from the details you will notice that the natural theme moves between the four seasons across each floor as well as the natural elements: earth, water and air as the levels ascend. Keeping in mind that children would be visiting the facility, a good dose of fun was incorporated into some of the areas to create an extra dimension of interest and humour. The Amalia Children’s Hospital atrium incorporates light trees made with felt leaves that are integrated in a track circuit that children can ride around with electric cars to provide a fun and warm environment for them during their stay.
The momentous task of bringing this project to life involved five different construction and installation companies, as well as the medical centre itself, who were awarded tenders for the different buildings and spaces with very different purposes namely: the entrance, atrium, reception, corridors, restaurants, patient’s rooms, waiting rooms, offices and a silence/prayer room.
These unique areas required suppliers that could meet the sustainability brief as well as the capabilities needed. Brink Licht has many years of experience across a range of brands and fixtures with multipurpose abilities and over the course of working on the project came to have over 20 different brands and commissioned a number of bespoke fixtures that were mounted or installed to enhance Radboud's Design Manager, Iris Hobo’s theme of "Theater of Nature'' across all of their new buildings and renovations. One of these bespoke lights is the iconic Costanza by Luceplan that was commissioned with brass stems to emphasise the natural theme of the centre and shades in custom colours to complement the season and element. Hundreds of these were manufactured and placed throughout the medical centre to give both continuity in the look as well as an elegant sophistication with their design while adding warmth and calm. Lighting was used to both help integrate the natural themes into the design and elevate the spaces with the results in the reception area in the newest building possessing the aesthetic of a cosy hotel. This was created with a richly textured and inviting entrance with smooth interesting shaped accents to put people at ease and provide clarity of space that helps visitors know instinctively where to go.
With any large project there are always some curveballs and difficulties along the way. This project and its many components, suppliers, clients and needs were no different. Sustainability is a noble goal, but it can be costly in the initial phases especially when there are many clients to satisfy and inventory from suppliers or commissions are not able to be managed on a wide and small scale simultaneously. Failure costs and learnings were noted and adjustments were made to the plans following each building that resulted in failure costs being reduced to almost zero and the Radboud UMC project being completed on time. Meetings between the architects and construction team were held to find solutions that spoke to the nature of the new and older buildings that would help create a unified look and feel without incurring doubled expenses. Although failure costs were incurred, there was a lot of experience gained and sharp control was implemented to manage delivery times.
With more practical experiences like this it will be possible to move away from complete unnecessary tear downs or building cheap unsustainable buildings in the future. Following the many hours spent for the completion of this incredible project, the teams involved now have years of experience in working successfully within the health field. Brink Licht likes to create light for places where people meet and with their accumulated time and hands on experience, can now be considered the lighting solution experts who can provide and manage lighting projects for the health sector.
Any future projects that require high quality sustainable lighting options that provide an atmosphere that needs to function pactically, for health and well being, and aesthetically, with a calm and safe ambiance, can turn to them with complete confidence and peace of mind.
Noot voor de redactie – niet voor publicatie Voor meer informatie en/of beeldmateriaal kunt u contact opnemen met Eduard Brink, (0348-435065 of info@brinklicht.nl, www.brinklicht.nl) Brink Licht in de Meern biedt een collectie van armaturen van grote merken en internationale designers, stuk voor stuk verrassend ontworpen met oog voor detail. De professionals van Brink Licht adviseren bij het kiezen van de juiste verlichting op het gebied van wonen, werken en domotica. Zij kunnen op korte termijn een gedetailleerde lichtstudie uitwerken en adviseren de klant bij de keuze van armaturen, installatiemogelijkheden en schakeltechniek. Het aanlichten van kunst op kantoor is een van de specialiteiten. Brink Licht gaat er bij al haar werkzaamheden van uit dat goede verlichting de ultieme sfeermaker is, zowel binnen als buiten. Sfeer die is af te stemmen op een ieders persoonlijke beleving en smaak. Licht kan verhullen en accentueren, het kan activiteit stimuleren of juist rust en intimiteit brengen.
