Hospitals which provide health services to millions of patients each year have been reconstructed by IPCU under ISMEP project to resist an earthquake, and provide smooth and uninterrupted services even during an earthquake, with a modern structure to provide better quality services.
Surely, hospitals will be affected from events such as earthquakes which make operating conditions more challenging. As such, we have retrofitted and reconstructed 115 hospital and policlinic structures so far in order to enable continuous services even during earthquake.
With reconstruction of Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital, Göztepe Training and Research Hospital, and Umraniye Maternity and Children’s Hospital, which are among hospitals treating most patients in Istanbul, we ensure provision of health services to nearly 5,5 million people.
Reconstructing hospitals in compliance with international Green Building criteria (LEED Gold Certificate), we serve as a model not only for other hospitals in our country but also for all healthcare complexes over the world.
No Operational Interruption Even during an Earthquake
We ensure that the whole hospital complex, in particular the operating rooms, continue its operations during an earthquake. We aim minimizing the damage caused by a possible earthquake through use of suitable construction elements and architectural features.
With automation systems to be installed in the hospitals, we can instantaneously monitor any power interruptions, which are of critical importance, and prevent any unfavourable circumstances which may arise in case of any possible emergencies.
We use “Seismic Isolation Technology” to deliver earthquake resistant hospitals. The seismic isolation technology absorbs a great amount of earthquake energy, reducing the energy transferred to the structure. Thus, the hospitals will be able to continue their operations uninterruptedly even during an earthquake.
We Prioritize Efficiency in All Aspects
IPCU is well aware of the importance of environment for a liveable world. We know that a holistic system is needed to ensure savings in use of resources and energy, and accordingly we design hospitals according to modern day requirements for a sustainable world.
We use premium thermal insulation products on building facades, making sure that glass and wall ratio is at ideal level. With high-performance glasses, we ensure reduced solar heat conducted into the building while permitting more daylight in thus creating a more luminous environment, as well as reducing lighting costs. With shading solutions used on the facade, we also reduce cooling loads, minimizing the amount of energy used for heating and cooling.
With the trigeneration system to be installed in the hospitals, we enable the hospital to generate a significant amount of the electricity needed by the hospital, and use the waste heat from trigeneration engines both for cooling and heating.
We ensure recovery of heat in every possible point in the building, and effectively manage and monitor the whole building through advanced building automation.
We prefer lighting equipments providing high efficiency, and minimize unnecessary energy consumption through daylight and motion sensor light automation system. In doing this, we pay particular importance to lighting level criteria according to EN and ASHRAE international standards.
We monitor energy consumption of each high energy consuming unit such as operating rooms, kitchens, heating centre, cooling units, and data server centres, ensuring active control through state-of-the-art technology meters and calorimeters.
We pave the road for use of indoor paints and adhesives not harmful form human health, and ensure a suitable environment inside the building through an Indoor Air Quality Management Plan. With all such measures, we aim to increase the efficiency rate above 30 percent, reference value set by ASHRAE, in Göztepe, Kartal, and Okmeydanı Hospitals.
We also take efficiency-oriented steps for gardens just as we do for interiors. We ensure efficient use of water through landscaping requiring small amount of water, and prevent excessive use of water through drip irrigation system. We ensure that kitchen and medical equipments comply with standards set by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With reduced annual water consumption per person expected to be achieved in all three hospitals, we aim to outperform the EPA standards by 20 percent.
Besides interiors and garden, we also adopt a sustainability-oriented approach for the roofs. With green roofs extending over 7 thousand square meters, in three hospitals, we both ensure an environmentally friendly structure and improve the insulation quality.
In our car parking areas, we provide recharging stations for electric vehicles, as well as allocate spaces for vehicles with low emission values. In addition, we ensure an environmentally friendly transportation inside the complexes with bicycle park spaces that we created for the employees.
With Construction Waste Management, we ensure recovery of demolition waste from the old building. In addition, we design a systematic infrastructure for waste recycling in the new campus.
With all these works, we intend to serve as a model not only for other health-related buildings in our country but also for all public buildings, and all hospitals over the world.