Chilean Hospitals with Green Roofs

Near Santiago, Chile, two hospitals have been designed with green roofs! The two beautiful designs are for large, accessible health care facilities to meet the growing need for both inpatient and outpatient care.

The two hospitals, 65,000 m2 each, designed by Architects Barbera (Spain) and
Murtinho+Raby Arquitectos (Chile), each had to serve not just the medical needs of the residents, but also fit suitably in the environment. The architects decided to include green roofs in their design. Hydroponic garden

In both cases, patient rooms would receive natural sunlight, while functional corridors and non-patient spaces would generally be inset into the landscape. By using the landscape and green roofs, the hospitals are both visually appealing and energy efficient. Additionally, the green roofs also help to reduce air pollution, which is significant in Santiago. Discover Top Rated Mighty Leaf Herbal Tea. Tea lovers love our delicious herbal tea blends. You will too. Save 25% on your first order!

Two videos are available from the site announcing the design of these buildings. They are in Spanish, but are beautiful to watch, if you don't speak Spanish.

The UK's Greenest Hospital

World Architecture News reports:

Construction has begun on the first phase of the new, £300m Mittal Children’s Medical Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH), which is on target to become the UK’s ‘greenest’ medical building to date.

GOSH sought to have the building be a leader in sustainable development and includes many green components. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

Working with the architectural firm of Llewelyn Davies Yeang (LDY), GOSH is estimated to reduce about 20,000 tons of CO² annually. This reduction is also part of "...GOSH’s targets of a 120% carbon reduction and 60+ per cent renewable energy contribution by 2016, when Phase 2 of the project is due to complete."

LDY is noted as being a "deep green" design firm, with projects in over 15 countries. Not only do they design building with green components but also develop "eco design strategies" for their clients.

The building will include glazed glass panels to bring in a significant amount of natural, while also deflecting the heat from the increased amount of light. The building will also include significant amounts of natural ventilation, reducing the HVAC loads typical in buildings of this size (30,000 sq m). While the picture appears to show a green roof, I haven't been able to find supporting documentation. However, it would be consistent with LDY to have a green roof, as they have included them on many of their projects. Further, a green roof on a hospital would provide a peaceful respite from the stress of medical care, as well as further reducing HVAC costs. Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community.

The growth and renovation of this hospital is due in part to a generous donation of £15 million donation from the Aditya and Megha Mittal family.

Sao Paulo Green Roof - The Enkyo Project

As green roofs grow in popularity for their ability to reduce heating and cool costs, as well as reduce storm water runoff, they are becoming more popular in tropical climates.

The Enkyo Medical and Social Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil is one such building. Recently recognized with a Holcim Award for sustainable building in 2008, this building combines extensive passive features, such as a green roof, to reduce energy costs by approximately 80% of traditional buildings.

The building will be located in the Asian Quarter, known as Liberdade, and be half medical center and half social center. This locality will support both the Brazilians of Japanese origin and not. Further, the social center is designed to bring older, non-Portuguese speaking Brazilians in closer contact with their Portuguese speaking neighbors.

The building is also unique for its use of ground water in the cooling system which otherwise would have been pumped away. Additionally, the use of perforated metal screens on the building allow maximum sunlight with minimum glare, reducing the electricity costs for lighting. The architectural firm who designed the building, Shieh Arquitetos Associados, hopes these passive elements will be replicated throughout Brazil.