Adjaye Associates Unveils Design for Ghana’s District Hospitals

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on August 19, 2021

Adjaye Associates has been commissioned the design of district hospitals, part of the Agenda 111 initiative by the Ghana Government. The major vision for Ghana’s healthcare sector will consist of 111 Hospitals including 101 District Hospitals, 2 Psychiatric Hospitals, 7 Regional Hospitals, and the Redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

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Under the responsibility of the Hospital Infrastructure Group (HIG) on behalf of the Ghana Government, the ambitious project “will lead to Ghana becoming a Centre of Medical Excellence and a destination for medical tourism”, according to President Nana Akufo-Addo. The District Hospitals seek to establish access to healthcare facilities throughout the country. This opportunity to transform Ghana’s medical system is led by Adjaye Associates, whose design concept “merges 21st-century technology with a contextual and holistic approach crucial to the delivery of state-of-the-art healthcare”.

By approaching the hospital as more than just a place for the provision of medical services, the design scheme aims to unlock the potential of this ambitious initiative by repositioning the hospital as a piece of community infrastructure that embodies sustainability, efficiency, and generously provides green spaces to facilitate wellness and healing. -- David Adjaye

Defining a next-generation healthcare experience and acknowledging that the design will need to adapt to over 101 locations in different urban and rural settings, each hospital facility is planned as a single-story campus, supported by other structures. The program thus includes primarily Patient Reception & Processing, Administration, Pharmacy, Labs / Diagnostics, OPD, Physiotherapy, Public Health, A&E, Surgical Ward, Pediatric Ward, Maternity Ward, Isolation Ward, and Surgery. The buildings are differentiated through their roof structures: gable or Butterfly, depending on whether the function needs maximum natural light and cross ventilation or a more controlled environment such as surgery spaces. Nevertheless, despite the differences in the roof structures, both types harvest rainwater and provide an insulated shell to minimize heat gain.

Unlocking the centuries old wisdom of the Adinkra symbols, our design sought inspiration from the Denkyem, which symbolizes a crocodile—a creature able to thrive with both air and water that is celebrated for its adaptability and intelligence. -- Adjaye Associates.

With smart strategies, ecologically responsive systems, and the use of prefabricated systems that maintain the lowest possible carbon footprint, the project can, easily, rapidly, and efficiently be reproduced. On another hand, in terms of form, “the building becomes a tool for wayfinding with a defined canopied entrance”. In fact, the building branches out from a central spine that is activated by a central garden and a series of nature-filled public spaces, that “punctuate the plan and provide an overall atmosphere of healing crucial for patients”.