Health center, Elsinore

40 km North of Copenhagen, the city of Elsinor gets new facilities that promote health and people’s well-being

Category

Health

Location

Elsinore, Denmark

Year

2018

Status

Competition proposal

Size

13,000 m²

Client(s)

Helsingør Municipality

Team

The construction company Einar Kornerup A/S, Dall & Lindhardtsen A/S, PLH Arkitekter, ÅF and DOGL ApS as a subcontractor.

The Helsingør health center supports the client’s desire to develop a future oriented healthcare system that focuses on people, quality and coherent processes. The new health center contains a range of services for local citizens. Among other things, a rehabilitation and training center, emergency clinic, outpatient clinics, common areas, day beds, a canteen and a cafe area.

One of the most important themes in the building is how it promotes health with a visible focus on rehabilitation and health in a broad perspective. Therefore, the building's users can perform rehabilitative exercises throughout the facilities, as niches, corridors, stairs and waiting areas have all been built with this purpose in mind.

Contact:
Kirsten Herup Søvang
T: +45 5141 2859
khs@plh.dk

The five "fingers"

The foyer of the health center is arranged as a welcoming and bright room on two floors, a large part of which is double height. It acts as the building's link between the many functions housed within. From here, the building is divided into five "fingers". This ensures users the shortest possible distance between functions, while improving wayfinding and walking flow. The treatment rooms are located on the 1st floor spread over four fingers - all with direct access from the foyer. The fifth finger is located on the ground floor and contains the commercial kitchen and goods delivery. This increases the separation between the outdoor arrival area and goods delivery.

The main entrance is constructed based on the idea that users arrive at the front of the building from the shopping street, the parking area and Citizens’ Service, respectively. The 2nd and 3rd floors contain the health center’s day beds. Here, there is a common living room, which is furnished with a kitchenette and dining area. There is access to a large balcony from the entire room with a view of the green landscape.

Nature and sensory park

The direct connection from the health center to the new nature and sensory park allows the area to be used by users and public alike. The layout of the park was based on the existing landscape, and this feature is reinforced by the new buildings.

The health center is built in the shape of a fan, forming three courtyards distributed between the "fingers". The courtyards can be integrated into the indoor activities, thus creating a smooth transition between indoors and outdoors. The outdoor green spaces will serve as a training garden, a garden café and a garden canteen for staff.

With the idea of using nature as a training area, meandering park paths have been placed in the training garden connecting the other courtyards, so that citizens can take different routes through the park, while always being able to find their way back to the health center. Along the paths, small sensory rooms, training areas and seating arrangements are linked.

The floor in the foyer is made from natural stone and resembles the tiles in the arrival area, creating a link between the indoor and outdoor areas. The vertical wooden strips are sound-absorbing and the materials contribute to a modern and contemporary look, as well as a good indoor acoustic climate.

“Our project is based on the unifying foyer, which has been the guiding principle for the building's design. It has also been important to us that the building opens up towards the green area, which establishes both a visual and physical connection between the internal functions and external green areas.”

– Kirsten Herup Søvang, Partner, PLH Arkitekter