BUILDING DESIGN
decision by the Chilean Ministry of Health which, since 2006, has been working with the Rapa Nui ethnic group on the island to incorporate their needs and traditions into the healthcare services. In parallel, the German Technical
Cooperation Agency, GTZ (now called GIZ), funded and commissioned the modelling of energy simulations. This information was incorporated into the hospital design to improve its energy efficiency. The 5,920 m2
‘Mapuches usually sleep with their head towards the east. On the contrary, when a Mapuche dies, they are buried with their head oriented towards the west, the direction of death.’
building has a central hall, a
sector of emergencies, care boxes, a large covered patio, an area of diagnosis support, an administration area, a hospitalisation service, two operation rooms and one delivery room, enabled for water birth. In addition, a service building houses a cafeteria for 80 people. The new infrastructure was contemplated as a community center, where it would be possible to deploy meal plans and preventive systems that involve the whole family. The site also incorporates an ecumenical chapel and replacement of 11 dwellings, for use by medical staff. Construction started in December 2009.
Progress was planned in stages, to ensure continuous operation of the existing facility. The new hospital is being built on the site of the old one. Because the island is located 3,700 km
from the Continental Chile coast logistics was an important consideration when choosing building materials for the hospital. H+A proposed mainly prefabricated roofing systems, such as glulam and a cover of evenly modulated crystals for easy replacement and transport by sea. Concrete was partially manufactured with aggregates of the island.
The outdoor coating was volcanic stone, following authorisation by the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) which is in charge of the natural territory of the island. Recycled steel was also used in the construction, as well as washed concrete. Hardness retardant was applied to the formwork with washed concrete. The roof will be made mainly of glulam as well as aluminium and tempered laminated glass. The island receives about 1,000 watts per m2, which is considered a high radiation. A surface of 90 m2 of solar thermal collectors
was installed on the roof top. These collectors are located on the service building, integrated into the glass cover which has a surface of 6,712 m2
. Together they deliver
energy to heat sanitary water and to operate the heating system, which is only required for a few hours every year, due to the subtropical climate of the island. Collectors will cover 60% of the energy
required annually by the hospital. The rest will be covered with heat pumps. In emergency and hospitalisation areas underfloor heating connected to the solar system through heat exchangers was considered. The roof top of the hospital is glazed and consists of an integrated SCHÜCO roof
system, which uses special aluminum profiles to fix crystals by watertight gaskets.1
collectors have a special frame that allows them to be fixed to the same aluminium profiles of the glazed roof top.
Meeting energy requirements The project also incorporated photovoltaic panels to cover the base energy demand of the hospital. The large extension of the glass cover will also be able, in the future, to receive a larger number of photovoltaic panels, which could supply energy to the rest of the island in case of energy generation surplus at the hospital. This is a great contribution, because in Hanga Roa, electricity is generated through generators that use oil transported from Continental Chile which makes energy generation costs very high. The island also has a restriction for the building of any structure higher than the Moais, (monolithic stone statues) in order to highlight the cultural relevance of these statues. This means that wind generators are not a plausible energy solution, making solar more relevant. The concept of sunscreen promoted the
idea of a ventilated cover of glass and aluminum to offer protection from rain and humidity. It is a laminated, tempered, screen printed glass, which has a partial shade and was installed on top of the slab and the insulation of the building. To prevent corrosion – given the extremely high salinity on the island – the roof structure is based on glulam. The structure has a wavy shape with two different slopes, which was designed to be produced by only one matrix in several identical pieces for easy production, transport and installation. The shape of the cover refers to the waves,
and is functional because the flat face is pointing north with an optimal inclination to install solar panels. The roof also encourages natural ventilation and lighting. All the rooms consider windows or
skylights, whose size meet the need of enough luminosity in order to avoid the need for artificial lighting during the day. Furthermore, ventilation remains a concern, given the high humidity on the island – 80% on average. The windows have a controllable
‘The architects understood the importance of taking into account the cosmovision and living context of the islanders.’
Diagram showing the layout of the Hanga Roa hospital on Easter Island. IFHE DIGEST 2015 65 The solar
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96