OMA / Reinier De Graaf have been invited to exhibit at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Titled "Hospital of the Future", the installation explores how after years of medical preparations and technological advancements, one pandemic was able to hinder medical progress, and kill the hospital as we know it, envisioning a new form of medical architecture.
Individuals in the medical have long worked to increase life expectancy, and ensure constant good health for everyone. Improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and medicine, have made it possible for people to live long beyond the age of 70, convincing some that the human race no longer needs to prepare for epidemics. However, COVID-19 made it evident that the people that medical progress had managed to keep alive were the ones that fell victim - "The chronic suddenly became acute".
For the exhibition, the team of architects and designers reimagined hospitals, based on their observations since the end of 2019. As seen in the installation, the hospital of the future is a place one will never go to, one that will act remotely, and treat each patient individually. Hospitals of the future will be self-sufficient, similar to how greenhouses produce their own crop. The newly-imagined spaces will allow automated machinery to handle routine tasks instead of its staff, leaving precision work in the hands of devices.
The hospital of the future will be in constant flux, like a theater, transforming its space to the event. If organs can be 3D printed, could the hospital be 3D printed? Using its waste as resource, could it rebuild itself perpetually? If we revive old remedies for common afflictions, could we grow just what the doctor prescribes?
HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE
OMA / REINIER DE GRAAF
- Partner in Charge: Reinier de Graaf
- Concept: Hans Larsson, Alex Retegan
- Film: Adam Kouki, Magdalena Narkiewicz, Max ten Oever, Camille Filbien
- Exhibition design: Benedetta Gatti, Sofia Hosszufalussy, Elisa Versari
- Research: Yeliz Abdurahman, Anton Anikeev, Matthew Bovingdon-Downe, Serah Calitz, Niccolo' Cesaris, Nuria Ribas Costa, Helena Gomes, Claire Jansen, Arnaud Latran, Lucas Piquemal, Anahita Tabrizi, Alex Tintea, Jonas Trittman, Santiago Palacio Villa, Yushang Zhang, Giada Zuan
We invite you to check out ArchDaily's comprehensive coverage of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021, and watch our official playlist on Youtube featuring exclusive interviews with architects and curators of the Biennale.
