Acibadem Hospitals Group, a private healthcare provider in Turkey that was recently acquired by global healthcare provider IHH Healthcare, operates 16 regional hospitals but recognized the need for services that are immediately accessible to the urban Istanbul community. 

The resulting Taksim Hospital project, led by Forum Studio’s (Chicago) design principal Erik Andesen, is part of 1.5 million square feet of completed and ongoing work that the firm is delivering in partnership with Acibadem. There is another 2 million square feet currently in master planning. 

The 200,000-square-foot, 100-bed hospital will be located adjacent to Taksim Square. Although small and constrained, the 35,000-square-foot brownfield site offers an opportunity to provide patient care in the fast-changing and growing urban neighborhood. The facility, along with its access and parking demands, required a solution that took advantage of the site’s steep topography and opportunities for below-grade construction. 

The result is a compact high-rise tower that’s vertically stacked and incorporates three stories of below-grade parking and mechanical spaces, two stories of diagnostic and treatment spaces, and a single story housing the lobby, public amenities, and support spaces. An additional nine-story tower above includes outpatient clinics and inpatient beds. 

The design concept evolved out of the desire to create a vibrant patient care environment within the urban setting as well as a desire to contribute to the “re-greening” of Istanbul. Like much of the city, the density of the built environment has increased, often at the expense of open green space. To bring natural elements closer to patients, family, and caregivers, the building incorporates exterior and interior garden spaces articulated as a series of multistory sky gardens.

Theses communal spaces are designed to maximize natural daylighting, provide access to nature, and become part of a larger sustainable strategy that incorporates natural ventilation and the pretreating of air for the mechanical systems. Energy modeling allowed the development of a holistic solution designed to optimize building performance and reduce energy consumption.