COVID-19
Figure 5. Floorplan and main facade of the annex of Hospital Independência in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.
activities. With a total area of 842 square metres, the annex also has a centre for sterilised material in addition to a ramp and walkway that allow the connection with the existing hospital. The development, divided into two floors, also allows for horizontal expansion, and allows for the construction of a third floor in the future.
l In this location, the population of the city of Porto Alegre was exclusively served by the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil and, after the period of emergency assistance established by the pandemic, the annex will be permanently incorporated into the municipal health network and Hospital Independência will have the total of 160 beds.
l The construction sites were structured based on a modular construction designed by Brasil ao Cubo, which allowed the project to be delivered within a ‘four times faster speed than a common construction’, according to those responsible for the construction. The technique consists of assembling individual modules produced at a factory and sequentially assembled at the construction site (Figs 4&5).
4. Recife temporary hospital City: Recife, Pernambuco. Total built area: 6947.66 square metres. Beds: 420 beds, with 100 ICU beds. Project author: George Eduardo Costa and team. l Implemented in central Recife in north- eastern Brazil, the temporary hospital
occupies an area of 19,532.53 square metres, with a built area of 6,947.66 square metres, distributed in four blocks. In block A, the ICU has capacity for 100 beds. In blocks B and C, two wards with a capacity of 160 beds each – totalling 420 beds in all. Block D contains all the necessary technical and logistical support facilities.
l Following the design format adopted, the ICU and infirmary rooms were designed in a cohort implantation system, with electrical and hydraulic installations able to meet the needs of haemodialysis equipment, cardioverter, pulmonary ventilator, multiparameter monitor, infusion pump, surgical aspirator, and concentrator (Fig 6).
Final considerations To end this journey through architecture, health and buildings in emergency situations, the image in Figure 7 that composes the cover of the book (inset) resulting from the elaborated research is highlighted here. The reference history and motivation for choosing to compose the construction of the cover design were diverse – and deserve to be shared. The first aspect to be
highlighted is that it is an image representing another moment in history with important epidemiological impact. The image, painted in 19th-century England, is from when smallpox arrived between 1868 and
1870. It arrived in a devastating form because between 1870 and 1875 the disease killed more than 10,000 Londoners and around 500,000 Europeans. St. Pancras Hospital was built in tents
and installed on the site that would soon be become home to the Great Northern Railway and St. Pancras station. The landscape in the image can serve as a reflection of the surrounding environment where the hospital was installed, a well- ventilated area with no other building in sight. Although the air conditioning system had not yet been invented, which would only happen in 1902 by the North American engineer Willis Carrier, the concern with natural ventilation conditions was a fundamental component in the correlation with diseases. We will have other examples to guide
us for future health emergencies in times to come but let us not forget the lessons of COVID-19 that are reflected in the book, Architecture for Emergencies: Experiences, Experiences and Reflections. We will continue to seek architectural
solutions for health in emergency situations for as long as pathogenic microorganisms exist. IFHE
Reference 1 Crisp N. Health is made at home: Hospitals are for repairs. SALUS Global Knowledge Exchange, 2020.
Figure 6. Map of the Recife Temporary Hospital. 48
Figure 7. St. Pancras Hospital by F. Collins, 1881. IFHE DIGEST 2022
©George Costa, 2021
©Brasil ao Cubo, 2020
©Rio Books Ed., 2021
Source: Wellcome Library
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