Adviser: Ar. Myron Alvin A. Matanguihan
University of Perpetual Help System Dalta-Calamba Campus
May 2023
The thesis proposes the development of a specialized infectious disease hospital in Clark City, Mabalacat, Pampanga, to enhance the country’s pandemic readiness. Motivated by the COVID-19 crisis, the project addresses the limitations of existing general and specialty hospitals, including insufficient bed capacity, outdated facilities, and the need for a sustainable approach to healthcare infrastructure. The proposed hospital, dubbed KABAL, aims to serve as a pandemic-ready institution equipped with research facilities, training spaces, and comprehensive medical services dedicated to both emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The study emphasizes the importance of architectural planning, zoning, safety, and innovation in healthcare design.
Research Abstract:
This proposal opens the idea of dedicating a hospital to curing and specializing in minor and major infectious diseases, in that way we will have appropriate research committed to averting surges like the current pandemic. Existing foreign studies and design took into consideration the site analysis and complete zoning & planning of the structure because it targets the project’s objectives. Having a specific number of beds and basing the number of patients on the survey from existing surges helped determine the capacity of the proposed hospital. With local research and studies, it opens other factors like maintaining the hospital once a specific infectious disease that populates the patients is eradicated. It focuses on these areas based on the DOH Guidelines to be able to reach the medical quality and service that a specialized hospital must have. The site was analyzed and visualized to embrace more strengths rather than weaknesses and opportunities, and threats. The utilization of the site advantages before and after the development is the consideration to be presented in the site development plan. Taking into consideration all the factors that a country or city needs to presume in order to devise a functional Infectious Disease Hospital and Research Center.
Project Background:
With the ever-rising rate of COVID cases per population density, hospitals and healthcare providers are finding it hard to cater to all the people in desperate need. According to The World Bank (n.d.), for every 1000 people, the bed capacity of hospitals in Manila can only cover 2.2 beds, 0.66 beds in urban areas, and 0.40 beds in the rest of the Philippines. Given that COVID cases in the Philippines are fluctuating daily, the rate of hospital capacity is concerning.
Constructed COVID facilities in multiple countries have been successful. In China, quarantine camps and covid hospitals are already complete in an average of 2-3 weeks (Oliveira, 2021). facilitation of quality and control in hospitals is possible through high-quality equipment, structural maintenance, air ventilation, water supply, and drainage. (Mo, 2020). Moreover, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Academy of Architecture for Health have created the COVID-19 Arch Map that characterizes the methodologies to meet healthcare demands. AIA also addresses solutions ranging from temporary hospitals to HVAC innovations that meet negative air pressure specifications for airborne infection isolation rooms (Headley, 2020). Japan leads the countries in being the most capable of catering to COVID patients, with 779 beds per 100,000 population (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2021). Though still relatively small, most hospitals in Japan can serve inpatients in terms of the number of beds that are maintained, attended to, and readily accessible for use. Hospital beds in total include curative (or acute) care beds, rehabilitative care beds, long-term care beds, and other hospital beds (Ogura & Wang, 2021). But even though these countries have built successful COVID facilities, it is inarguable that almost every country is failing to meet the needs of its patients.
On the other hand, the recovery rate in the Philippines is already at 900,000 on April 26, 2021 (Worldometers, 2021). This data, however, does not indicate whether the recoveries were due to hospital care or self-care. Apart from bed incapacity, some people are hesitant to admit themselves to hospitals due to various reasons. These include cross-infection, transmission-proneness, hospital incapability, lack of equipment, lack of trust, and other personal reasons. In the recent past, the Philippines has seen many outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases and it continues to be susceptible to the threat of re-emerging infections such as leptospirosis, dengue, meningococcemia, and tuberculosis. The current situation emphasizes the risks and highlights the need to improve preparedness at local, national, and international levels against future pandemics. New pathogens will continue to emerge and spread across regions and will challenge public health as never before signifying grim repercussions and health burden. These may cause countless morbidities and mortalities, disrupting trade and negatively affecting the economy.
Several social determinants are contributing to the emergence of novel infectious diseases and the resurgence of controlled or eradicated infectious diseases in our country. These contributing factors are namely: (1) Demographic factors like the population distribution and density, (2) international travel/ tourism and increased OFWs, (3) Socioeconomic factors, and (4) Environmental factors. The latter includes our country’s vulnerability to disasters, increased livestock production, man-made ecological changes or industries, and lastly urbanization which encroaches and destroys animal habitats.
Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases are unpredictable and create a gap between planning and concrete action. To address this gap, there is a need to come up with proactive systems that would ensure preparedness and response in anticipation of negative consequences that may result in pandemic proportions of diseases. Proactive and multi-disciplinary preparedness must be in place to reduce the impact of public health threats. (Department of Health, 2017)
With the notions presented in the previous paragraphs, the researcher has carefully studied disaster planning and emergency preparedness—things that are crucial to designing an operational infectious disease hospital. There are more factors as to why a pandemic is hard to address. As an architecture student, the least the researcher could do in constructing healthcare facilities is to ensure the quality, safety, and integrity of the structural project he/she will design—a facility that can adequately address the universal health standards, structural design standards, and trust of people in hospitals.
Objectives:
1. Project Objectives
- Reduce the transmission of infectious diseases by providing a safe and controlled hospital environment.
- Equip the structure to handle surges or pandemics efficiently.
- Develop a comprehensive facility checklist in line with DOH guidelines.
- Minimize dependency on foreign medical solutions by fostering local research capacity.
2. Design Objectives
- Integrate sustainable and modular architectural principles to ensure safety and functionality.
- Establish segregated zones for various diseases to avoid cross-contamination.
- Adopt internationally competitive standards in hospital planning and infrastructure.
- Ensure the facility is economical, independent, and adaptive to public health crises.
Significance of the Study:
- Society: Increases public awareness and confidence in local medical capabilities.
- Community of Clark City: Provides job opportunities and supports economic growth.
- Government & DOH: Offers a model for multi-disciplinary pandemic preparedness and can inform future healthcare policies.
- Frontliners: Enhances work efficiency and safety, while enabling research opportunities.
- Future Researchers: Contributes to the field of healthcare architecture and public health preparedness.
Methodology and Design Considerations:
- Site Selection: Clark City, Pampanga, was chosen due to its accessibility to NCR while avoiding urban congestion.
- Design Concept:
* Modularity using the “Seed of Life” concept for flexible spatial configuration.
* Sustainable features including natural ventilation, daylighting, green landscaping, and waste management systems.
- Programming and Systems:
* Complete architectural programming for medical, administrative, research, and training facilities.
* Detailed planning of structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and security systems.
Key Findings and Contributions:
- Current Philippine healthcare infrastructure is insufficient to handle large-scale infectious disease outbreaks.
- Specialized and modular facilities can enhance patient care, minimize transmission, and support local medical research.
- Investment in such infrastructure reduces long-term healthcare risks and strengthens national pandemic resilience.
Design Concept:
Modularity is the concept of first creating various modules and then connecting and combining them to build a full system. Modularity allows for reuse and flexibility and will be the guiding major design concept of the proposed Infectious Disease Hospital.
A system's modularity refers to how easily its parts or modules can be changed. The construction of modules or units that are joined together to form a particular structure is the foundation of modular designs. The structure can be modified, improved, reused, or altered to accommodate various modifications because of the design's modularity. It is used in the open planning of laboratory facilities to provide a changeable open area that may be used any way the user desires. The building requires an adaptable modular design approach to satisfy the shifting needs in infectious disease research and development technologies.
Laboratories require adaptable facilities that can be used for a variety of functions. The need for adequate spaces for novel viruses or existing, reemerging, and emerging viruses necessitates a high level of scalability and flexibility in the face of rapidly changing demands in infectious disease research; thus, modular approaches help mitigate the challenge in the urgency for rapid expansion. Construction of a modular standard system using prefabricated components or by designing architectural patterns that bring rhythm and personality to the structure in relation to its environment and surroundings.
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