The Chest Diseases Hospital is a 320-bed facility for the Ministry of Health in Kuwait. The hospital will provide innovative and functional design that will be sensitive to regional and Islamic principles and traditions. The hospital will reflect local environmental conditions and will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and energy and water conservation, as well as facilitating future flexibility and expandability.

The design focuses on patient needs. All good design that nurtures and provides a healing environment for patient care must be patient-focused. That design attitude is evident throughout this hospital. It is reflected in the hospital’s visual imagery, in its appropriate scale and proportion to its contextual site, in its climate sensitivity as perceived by the larger Kuwaiti community, and in the expansive views of the Persian Gulf from patient rooms. Contemplative “oasis gardens” immediately accessible to patients, visitors, and staff also demonstrate the patient-focused care philosophy.

The design gives privacy to inpatient care units by segregating interdepartmental and public circulation from inpatient care unit circulation. Because of the low-rise nature of the building, all patient bed levels are designed in scale to the ground plan. The type of inpatient bed units are horizontally connected to the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment areas (i.e., surgical beds to surgery, etc.), to minimize travel time and distance and allow circulation segregation.

Project category: Project in progress (August 2007)

Chief administrator: Undersecretary, Ministry of Health, (011) 965-242-0307

Firm: Langdon Wilson, (213) 250-1186

Design team: Asad M. Khan, Managing/Design Partner-in-Charge; Niall Kelly, Project Manager; Vigen Nalbandian, Medical Planner; John Peightel, Project Manager

Photography: Mark Lohman

Total building area (sq. ft.): 540,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $230

Total construction cost (excluding land): $124,000,000