Five years ago today, on November 15, the Curacao Medical Center first opened its doors. This hospital takes center stage in the latest post for our 25th anniversary series. At around 40,000m2, it is the largest project in our portfolio.
Lyongo: “It is the largest project in terms of size, but also in terms of duration, in my career. The design took 3 years to properly incorporate the 8,000 requirements and obtain all the necessary permits. The realization of the project took a total of 8 years.”
The old hospital
“The previous building had a sentimental value to many people. So, you must take that into account when you start such a project. This is not surprising considering the old hospital had been there for around 160 years, people did not know any better than that you would go here if you were sick.”
The old hospital was quite outdated. You could not isolate the sick and treatments often took place in the open air. That causes hygiene problems. There were also different classes within the hospital. People who had more money to spend could be treated in the first class, which provided better healing environment. If you had to stay in the third class, you often lay in crowded, shared spaces with up to 40 people. “Imagine if the Corona crisis had taken place and there had not been a new hospital? I am very happy that we were able to accommodate people in the new building during such a pandemic.”
One of a kind
“What I knew for sure when I started this project was: things must change. I want everyone on the island to be able to receive good treatment. But because the new Curacao Medical Center was such a large building, it brought with it the necessary challenges. It is the only building of this size on the island. No one had ever built a building like this. In terms of regulations, we had to come up with all kinds of constructions that did not exist yet. That was quite a puzzle sometimes…”
Sustainable
“An important requirement was that we had to demonstrate that the building did not receive too much sunlight. We had to prove that the size and position of the shutters guaranteed less than 2 hours of direct sunlight per day to pass through. Besides that, we have the central hall which naturally ventilated. By using movable glass shutters, we can regulate the wind and guarantee that the inside temperature is always 3 degrees lower than outside in de shade. Such research takes time, but it was certainly necessary. Now you can also use this as a basis for other buildings where you want to use the climate to cool your building sustainably.”
A view for everyone
“One of the things that I am most proud of is that I was able to convince EGM that in the Caribbean the wards must face outside and interact with the outside world. This resulted in placing the wards on the southside and having the hot floor on the north. The hot floor is the place where the heavy medical procedures happen. In the wings that house the wards, recognizable by their different colors, people can recover from their operation or treatment. We have turned all the wings a bit so that people in all rooms can enjoy the beautiful view of the Mangrove City Park and the Caribbean Sea.”
