Architecture for flexibility in healthcare

Flexibility in architecture can be viewed as the capacity of a building to adapt to changing spatial, operational or usage demands whether in the short, medium or long term. This capacity for transformation, for versatility of the structure and for elasticity in its operation can be ensured only by a building entity which has been conceived, developed and then designed from the outset in accordance with technological, structural and plant engineering criteria specifically oriented towards flexibility.
Satisfying this demand is particularly important for the types of buildings which are subject to rapid and continual change, such as in healthcare architecture.
Hence, this text sets out to identify the strategies for flexibility which are the most suitable for designing hospital buildings capable of being adapted quickly to the emergence of new demands while reducing to the minimum any interference with the healthcare activities being carried out. An additional feature which contributes to the enrichment of this text is the study of different levels of flexibility of the building (the Hospital Complex, the Building, the Functional Unit and the Individual Room) each of which displays degrees of spatial and operational flexibility, depending on the typological-spatial choices described in the text.
Finally this volume presents case studies of contemporary hospital architecture specifically selected on the basis of their characteristics of innovation and adaptability.

Stefano Capolongo. An architect with a PhD in Public Health, he is Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano and tenured professor on the courses on Environmental Health , Technology for construction and environmental health and Social Architecture at the School of Architecture. He is also a teacher at the Post-graduate Schools of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the Universities of Parma and Milan. Scientific head for the Politecnico di Milano's Cluster on " Designing healthcare facilities ". Author of more than 160 scientific publications, he carries out research activities and collaborates on design relating to hospital architecture and technologies for environmental sustainability.