Schlögl, Robert, et al,.
Maswiken enthuses about the sense of cleanliness one is given, casting a view across the space.Kirsty Cobden, a member of the Business Development Team who often holds events in the atrium, says she thinks the area’s aspirational, calm atmosphere has a direct effect on patients.
‘It doesn’t look like a hospital,’ she says, ‘so it puts them at ease as soon as they walk in… There’s a smell to hospitals.Whereas when you walk in here, you’ve got the smell of the deli, of the food, of coffee.’.Martin Wood describes the concentration for the design of the hospital as being on efficiency of flow, in a way that ‘owes more to manufacturing processes, owes more to buildings that are directly about efficiency in outcome.’ However, he notes that at Circle this doesn’t compromise the user experience in the least.
‘Emphasis on value,’ he says, ‘does not necessarily mean that it precludes the use of interesting architectural form.’ Rather, the opposite.The atrium aids with facilitating natural and easy way-finding, says Wood, adding that the building’s concentration on flow efficiency, as well as the sense of legibility the space provides, actually lends itself to a reduction in stress.
‘Everything is self explanatory,’ he says.
‘There is no need for signs.Excellent Occupant Experience: Both Passivhaus and Bryden Wood believe that environmental performance should not come at the expense of occupant experience.
This is reflected in the designs targeting both the Passivhaus Thermal Comfort criterion as well as CIBSE TM 59, which ensures adequate thermal performance.. Resilient and adaptable to different climate conditions: Passivhaus also provides additional resilience by adopting a design based on passive design strategies coupled with technological solutions that can easily be upgraded, refurbished and replaced.Whilst Passivhaus was originally developed for residential buildings in Germany, the standard and its principles can be adopted in all kinds of building types, locations and climatic scenarios, and respond to the effects of global warming..
However, there are four important challenges for the adoption of Passivhaus:.Increased design cost and complexity: It requires specific detailing of the envelope, high quality of construction and specific performance testing in order to get the building certified..