BRANCH EVENTS
can help each other stage interesting events such as this biennial IHEEM Hong Kong Branch Symposium, which was supported by all the aforementioned bodies. Symposia and conferences are an excellent knowledge-sharing and contact-making opportunity, and attract many professional engineering and estate management personnel both from Hong Kong and further afield. In recent years we have also built up our network of clinical contacts, and our links with IPC teams and microbiologists.” In recent years, he explained, IHEEM Hong Kong Branch members have visited a number of Chinese hospitals to see how they are being designed and built, and how fast-changing clinical trends are impacting on this. Dr Yuen said: “Alongside my other roles, I am a Council Member of the China Hospital Association. The Chinese healthcare market is huge; I believe China has at least 30,000 hospitals, and more operating theatres than the rest of the world put together. When you visit Chinese hospitals, it’s not unusual to see 4,000-10,000 bedded facilities.”
The value of networking IHEEM Past-President, Paul Fenton, said: “Following Dr Yuen’s welcome address at the start of the symposium, Dr Tony KO Pat-Sing, CEO of the HSKAR Hospital Authority, had also highlighted the value of networking and knowledge-sharing within the healthcare engineering and wider healthcare communities – referring cleverly to the value of ‘napkin innovations’ – i.e. the fact that some of the most useful conversations take place during coffee breaks, or at the dinner table. He also spoke enthusiastically about Hong Kong’s 10-year Hospital Development Plan, which Alison Ryan had referred to, explaining that a key element would be increasing use of ‘smart’ technology and AI. “Dr Pat-Sing also discussed some of the learnings for engineers post-COVID, such as ensuring sufficient hospital supplies of high-flow oxygen; shortages had impacted many countries, including the UK. Hong Kong had learned some valuable lessons on hospital ventilation during the 2003 SARS outbreak, while COVID-19 had created some significant further technical challenges and lessons for healthcare engineers, and indeed clinicians, particularly around containing airborne virus transmission, and – in the latter case – the most effective treatment methods. The pandemic had, he emphasised, particularly highlighted the need for both a resilient oxygen supply, and robust, well- maintained hospital infrastructure.” One of Dr Yuen’s close business
associates in Chinese healthcare is Wang Gang, Director of the Shandong Provincial Architectural Design Institute, who spoke on trends in hospital development, design, and construction in
Above: The day before the symposium, IHEEM’s current and Past-President attended a meeting at the offices of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. Right: To mark Alison Ryan and Paul Fenton’s visit to the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, HKIE Vice-President and Arup Director, Alice Chow, presented the IHEEM President with a plaque.
China. In his presentation, ‘Architectural and Environmental Artistic Design and Integration’, he focused particularly on the new RMB 2.83 bn (£255 m), 1,200-bedded, 23,000 m2
Urumchi Children’s Hospital
in Xinjiang, and some of the key design aspects – both from an architectural and construction perspective. The latter included a tight construction timescale, high construction costs, limited material availability, and transporting goods to the remote location. Wang Gang also discussed more detailed elements such as the façade design, and some of the key considerations in designing specifically for children. Dr Yuen added: “We find considerable
reciprocal benefits in our relationships and dealings with those working in Chinese healthcare. Not only can we learn from them, and hear about some of the fast-moving development in healthcare building design in China, but our Chinese counterparts can hopefully also gain from our experience and expertise.” Imparting some of that expertise was
Professor Thomas KC Chan, Executive director, Building, MEP, at WSP (Asia), who trained both in Hong Kong and the UK, and has over 38 years’ power and building services engineering experience. A Past- President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Chairman of the IET Hong Kong, and Chair of the CIBSE Hong Kong region, he is also a Fellow of IHEEM, CIBSE, HKIE, and the IET, a Chartered Engineer, and the current Chairman of the Electrical Safety Advisory Committee, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, at the Government of HKSAR. In his presentation, ‘Climate change and safety impact on high-rise hospital design’, Prof. Chan explained that until 2000, most public hospitals built in Hong Kong were between
10 and 15 storeys high, and many private hospitals ‘low-rise’. However, there had been a growing trend for those being built since 2021 to be over 20 storeys high – creating new challenges for designers and constructors – both as regards their ability to withstand extreme climactic events, and their increased carbon footprint. Looking first at high-rise buildings’
resilience to extreme climate ‘events’, Prof. Chan said that when designing healthcare buildings in Hong Kong with the ability to withstand a typhoon, for example, one had both to conduct a Wind Analysis on Building Height Impact study, and to consider the impact of wind pressure on the facade, and the rigidity of the MEP plant support. Black ‘rainstorms’ can see rainfall of over 100 mm/hour, while the highest rainfall recorded by the Hong Kong Observatory (since 1884) was 145 mm/ hour. Such ‘black rainstorms’ currently have a 100-year return risk, with a ‘worst case’ scenario of 250 mm of rain over a 10-minute period. The Professor discussed some of the key mitigation measures against such weather extremes, particularly in protecting buildings from flooding.
Carbon impact in focus He also discussed the carbon impact of higher-rise hospital facilities, embodied and operational carbon optimisation measures when designing them, floor efficiency improvement and planning vertical transportation, and the benefits of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC). Professor Chan’s presentation also covered thermal performance improvement, hospital orientation and façade design, opportunities to use renewable energy, natural daylighting and ventilation, co- and tri-generation, and the need to carefully consider aspects such as MEP
January 2024 Health Estate Journal 47
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