A moment of calm between hospital and home.
Drie Eiken has the character and comfort of a hotel. Patients are guests. Here they can recover or rest after an operation before returning home. Care is provided 24 hours a day, but is not visible.
This care hotel is a unique concept in Belgium. The hotel is a joint initiative by Antwerp University Hospital and AZ Monica. The project responds to the plan by Flemish Minister for Health, Jo Vandeurzen, to create 1500 rooms in Flanders to smoothen the flow of patients after hospitalization. Drie Eiken is a collaboration between EGM architecten and Belgian office LLOX architecten.
The patient as guest
The occupant days of a patient in hospital are increasingly limited. Not every patient who leaves hospital can recover safely and well at home. The design of Drie Eiken offers a solution for this. The care hotel unites the best of two worlds. Patients become 'guests' who stay in control of their stay and recovery. Care is available, but it is not visible. What is visible is quality, comfort and hospitality.
Luxury and comfort and accessibility
The concept is well thought out. The rooms are wheelchair accessible and have tall windows that admit daylight and provide views of the green surroundings. Colour and materials ensure a warm and luxurious atmosphere. All single and twin rooms are fitted with a minibar and digital television and have a spacious bathroom. In addition to revalidation and relaxation spaces, there is a fitness and wellness area, a restaurant and a sun terrace. And there is room service, just like in a hotel.
Integrated into surroundings
As the first building that visitors see as they enter the grounds of Antwerp University Hospital, the care hotel is a point of orientation. Integration in the surroundings was therefore an important principle in the design. A defining feature of the hospital master plan are the green ridges. To leave the surroundings as intact as possible, the modern building is literally placed in an existing ridge, thereby integrating it into its surroundings. And the same green surroundings are even more visible from inside. The compact and clear volume leaves as much space as possible for the landscape, and is therefore sustainable in terms of energy consumption.
Sustainability
The compact building features high-standard insulation, automatic exterior sun protection and mechanical night cooling in the corridors. Photovoltaic cells and underfloor heating with water kept at low temperature by means of a heat pump ensure low energy consumption and a pleasant indoor climate.
Awards
Internationale Bouwprijs NVTG Award 2016 - Highly Commended
Innovation to Care 2013 - Nomination