KIRAMEKI Terrace Healthcare Hospital

Kirameki Terrace is an urban development project in Kagoshima City that is underway to address the challenges facing regional cities, such as population decline, aging, child-rearing, and employment. This 179-bed rehabilitation and chronic care hospital plays a part in this project.
Large eaves reduce the heat load in the harsh sunlight of the area. A second-floor terrace and pedestrian-only circulation routes connect to other facilities in the block. The "zero circulation ward" adopted by this hospital places a corridor called a "veranda corridor" on the exterior wall. Utilizing integrated lighting regulations and other features, the patient room environment is improved. At the same time, the staff station is directly connected to each patient room, reducing the nursing circulation route for medical staff to "zero (the shortest)." We proposed a new method for ward design, where specialized requirements overlap, and were the first to obtain registration under the revised Design Act ^* for a hospital facility. Rather than aiming to exclude third parties, we will consider operational and legal compliance, such as using this as a PR tool for our company.

*The revised Design Act, which came into effect in 2020, expanded the scope of protection from the previous "articles" to include architectural designs, and now officially recognizes novelty and originality.