Waikato Hospital atrium a "knock out combination"

They thought of everything – even the surface material is permanently anti-bacterial and easy to clean. This clever design aspect is just part of the reason that the Atrium in Waikato Hospital’s Acute Services Building was a stand-out winner in the New Zealand Fly Forbo 2012 Awards. The architectural awards are held in Australia and New Zealand annually, with the Acute Services Building Atrium taking out the New Zealand award with ease. The Atrium was completed as part of Waikato District Health Board’s $430m building and redevelopment programme, in 2011. It was designed by CJM (a joint venture between Chow:Hill, Jasmax Limited and McConnel Smith & Johnson). “We wanted an inviting, relaxing space with a strong identity that related back to the local environment, to give people a sense of comfort and ownership,” said Waikato DHB Health Facility Planner, Helena Berard.

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“We wanted to create an outlook from the patient bedrooms, and to provide natural light for the bedrooms.

“It was key to use a product that would be durable and easy to look after – marmoleum met that requirement – while also allowing the area to maintain a bright uplifting interior space to be used by patients, staff and visitors.”

Fly Forbo judge and Architectural Media editorial director Cameron Bruhn, said that the bold swathes of vivid colour and dramatic shapes create a visually exciting landscape [in the building].

“This is a dynamic, lively and uplifting space that is so much more welcoming and exciting than traditional institutional surroundings.”

“People attending acute care facilities are usually at a very stressful period of their lives,” said Forbo Flooring Systems managing director Wayne Donovan.

“This monolithic design brings character, warmth and life to the space, as well as providing some comforting privacy.

“The fact that the surface material chosen is permanently anti-bacterial, easy clean and sustainable just adds to the design’s value and functionality. It is a knock-out combination.”

“Usually atriums are large spaces that people feel quite threatened to enter. Our design expresses the colours and undulations of farmland and rolling hills central to the Waikato area’s identity,” said CJM joint project director Marko den Breems.

Check out the Acute Services Building and other major building works taking place at Waikato Hospital.


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ENDS


Date: 22 July 2012

Contact:
Amy Thomsen
Communications Consultant
Waikato District Health Board
021 712 663