Hospitals have to adapt to medical and technological advances, to new organisations and treatments, to changes in the population and its pathologies, and to uncertainties and undesirable events.
To achieve this, the structure of the building and the technical installations must not be a constraint or an obstacle to the mutability of spaces, the reconfiguration of interiors and the creation of potential.
It was with this priority in mind, and with an awareness of how difficult it is for health establishments to operate and maintain increasingly complex installations, that Egis quickly turned its attention to simple, pragmatic and ... "low tech" hospital engineering.
Low tech" starts with the right sizing of needs and targeted input, followed by tried and tested techniques, easy-to-maintain equipment, local materials and environmentally-friendly construction processes. This approach reduces initial and subsequent operating costs, while improving the energy efficiency of buildings. It encourages local innovation and adaptability to local constraints, while avoiding technical and technological overkill.
By adopting low tech, hospitals can not only reduce their ecological footprint, but also create healthier, more comfortable environments for patients and staff. It 's a win-win approach that combines economic performance with environmental responsibility.
The new 58,000 m² surgery building at the Reims University Hospital brings together all the site's surgical activities around a large-scale technical platform, which enabled us to put our precepts into practice.
A project of this type requires a considerable volume of air transfers - over 500,000 m3/h - which will have to circulate through 4 different networks (fresh air / supply air / return air / exhaust air). This results in a multitude of air distribution ducts (with large cross-sections) that will cross the building on all sides, thus penalising the vertical and horizontal usable spaces.
The first task undertaken by Egis was to optimise these air transfers as much as possible. The requirements of the programme, the characteristics of each room, their conditions of use and the geometry of the envelope were modelled using an exclusive Digital Thermal Model (DTM) concept right from the initial studies.
This method enables us to achieve precise sizing that is as close as possible to the real needs of the HVAC installations, and also to achieve an optimised design in terms of energy management and environmental footprint.
The second objective was to minimise the impact of the ducts on the spaces dedicated to patients and professionals, and in the technical plenums, in order to leave more space available for the future. We have systematically placed the air handling systems as close as possible to the rooms or groups of rooms that consume the most air. As a result, the treated air no longer has to circulate in the building, as it is produced directly where it is needed.
