Katta General Public Hospital 2002

Client : Shiroishi Hoka Nicho Association
Design : Architects Collaborative (Taro Ashihara Architects, Koh Kitayama + architecture WORKSHOP, Hideto Horiike + Associates)

This is an outstanding example of innovative public hospital architecture. This three-floor, 100 × 140 square-meter building has outpatient care facilities as well as various medical screening facilities and a full-range of hospital rooms for inpatient care specially designed to provide patients a stress-free visual environment.
The first floor is a large piloti space with the reception and outpatient waiting area, the second floor contains offices, and the third floor contains patient rooms and a rooftop garden. All patient rooms face the garden or the terrace – both filled with nature light – to make the entire ward the embodiment of a "healing space." Lighting design is without question assuming an increasingly important role in hospitals and treatment facilities.