Solar-powered hospital heals patients with sustainable design in New Zealand

Good design can make people healthier and nowhere is that more true than in hospital design.

The Kathleen Kilgour Centre, designed by Wingate + Farquhar Architects, is a great example of a patient-centered hospital that’s not only designed to improve people’s health, but also protects the well-being of our environment with its eco-friendly design. Located in New Zealand city of Tauranga, the energy-efficient radiation therapy clinic is topped by one of the country’s largest solar arrays.

Completed late last year, the three-story-tall and spacious Kathleen Kilgour Centre is estimated to provide local cancer-treatment options for approximately 600 patients. The 3,000-square-meter building is topped with a distinctive sawtooth roofline that optimizes the efficiency of the 450-square-meter rooftop solar array and maximizes natural light and ventilation. The hospital is mostly clad in off-white steel with a raised-seam profile, while the protruding green solar shades add a bright pop of color.

The architects created the hospital’s warm and welcoming environment by designing an easy-to-navigate layout filled with natural light, natural materials, tall ceilings, and large green wall. The large glazed openings frame views of the landscape, including those of the distant Kaimai Mountains. The solar-powered Kathleen Kilgour Centre also uses energy-efficient lighting, high thermal mass, solar hot water heating, and rainwater harvesting.

 

The architects created the hospital’s warm and welcoming environment by designing an easy-to-navigate layout filled with natural light, natural materials, tall ceilings, and large green wall.

 

The 3,000-square-meter building is topped with a distinctive sawtooth roofline that optimizes the efficiency of the 450-square-meter rooftop solar array and maximizes natural light and ventilation.

 

The large glazed openings frame views of the landscape, including those of the distant Kaimai Mountains.

 

Completed late last year, the three-story-tall and spacious Kathleen Kilgour Centre is estimated to provide local cancer-treatment options for approximately 600 patients.

 

The solar-powered Kathleen Kilgour Centre also uses energy-efficient lighting, insulation with high thermal mass, solar hot water heating, and rainwater harvesting.